How to buy art you love

Can’t take your eyes off it? There’s a reason for that. According to a survey by University College London, art is something we can and do fall in love with. You know, the thing that can make life worth living – or alternatively can overthrow the mind and break the heart. But how do you choose the one to love?

©Images by François Halard

“Viewing art gives same pleasure as being in love. The same part of the brain that is stimulated by romantic love is also triggered when we stare at great works of artistic beauty.”

Professor Semir Zeki (UCL Wellcome Laboratory of Neurobiology)

Buying art for beginner’s

First, try and get to know the piece. Will it fulfil your aesthetic needs? Is it too big, too small or just perfect? How will it look in place? See Rose Uniacke at Home, published by Rizzoli, with images by François Halard – airy and light, delicate and robust, grand and intimate, raw and luxurious: these are just some of the qualities and contradictions that resonate within the work and home of Rose Uniacke.

“Driven by the pursuit of purity in every sense, Uniacke has garnered a world-class reputation for her distinct aesthetic that is unrivalled in its quiet simplicity, restraint and sophistication.” -DUJOUR.COM

How to buy art for your home

How does it reflect on you and what will they think when you get it home? Also, how is it prepared and how does it arrive? In a crate or in a tube? And does it need a frame? Take a picture of your space and we can showcase ideas for you.

Francois Halard: A Visual Diary, James Brown, Studio, Merida, 2015, Images courtesy the artist and Rizzoli

How to get to know the artist

Then you need to get to know the artist better. Where do they come from and where did they train? From what do they derive their inspiration and what else have they done? Are they collectable, in demand even? Have they exhibited? If so where and how was the work received?

Visit studios, graduate shows and art galleries as often as you can. There’s a whole world of fabulous art out there just waiting for you. See Francois Halard A Visual Diary. For more than thirty years later, Halard still captures our imagination with his breathtaking photographs of the glorious homes of the most important tastemakers, artists, and designers of the 20th century including: Rick Owens (Paris), Dries van Noten (Belgium), Manolo Blanik (England). Giorgi Morandi House (Italy), De Menil House (Houston), Maya Hoffman House (Arles), Miquel Barcelo (Spain), Saul Leiter Apartment (New York), Glasgow Art School by Mackintosh, Raphael at the Vatican, Donald Judd (Marfa), John Richardson (New York). Many of these images were first published in Vogue and House and Garden, but many others will be seen here for the very first time. Like his first book, Francois Halard: A Visual Education, this follow-up volume will be a coveted, indispensable must-have visual resource for all lovers of interior style.

©Images by Liesbeth Willaert

There’s the price to consider too. You happy to pay the asking price? Or would you like to make an offer (just make sure it’s not a risible offer – anything less than 80% of the original price is considered disrespectful). Does that sum include shipping cost and taxes – either from the country of origin or the artwork’s destination country? So many questions, true.

But just like in any relationship, it can be so much fun finding out the answers too.

Take a pinch of Miró and a dash of Bridget Riley, add in the eternal tussle between jagged reality and dreamy ephemerality and place in a painter. That painter is Belgian born Liesbeth Willaert and this is her wonderful, explosive, colourful exploration into making sense of the world and to find some order in the chaos and confusion.

So many questions, true. But just like in any relationship, it can be so much fun finding out the answers too.