The lobby area of The Sagamore Art Hotel in South Beach
You’ve just acquired what everyone says is an ingenious investment. Now that the adrenaline rush and the subsequent glow of triumph have receded, the worry sets in: too low; correction; still not high enough?
It’s not the stock market that’s driving you mad, but your first major art purchase. Is the place you’ve chosen for it the best vantage point? Everyone says “hang it at eye level,” but eye level for someone who is six feet tall and someone who is four-foot-eight is decidedly different! And what in Sam Hill is salon style? In celebration of Miami's descent into Art Basel Miami Beach chaos this coming week, I've asked some of the city's art gurus how they go about making sense of their art-hanging predicaments.
First, the bad news: those who are creative when it comes to displaying art say there is no magic formula. The good news is that this has its advantages because it means that interesting alternatives abound. One of Miami’s preeminent art collectors, whose collection is debuting in its own new building next week, says she loves to experiment. “I enjoy playing around with different possibilities before any final decisions are made,” says Rosa de la Cruz. “It’s not about my walls; it’s about context and how to best present the art within that context. For example, this year, I am installing paintings in the foyer of the house on the low side in order to create a horizontal perspective.
If you are a brand new collector who is building a home, architect Ramon Pacheco advises you to keep your most valued pieces of art in mind during the planning phase, especially the larger ones. “You’ll need large walls in key places for those,” he explains, “and you’ll want to pay close attention to the lighting plan from the start.” When it comes to art, size really does matter. “Let’s say you have a ten-foot-long wall and a small painting that’s 1 1/2 feet tall by 2 feet wide,” says interior designer Gay Kanuth; “hang it above the side table instead of the sofa so that it will have something to connect with. Then put a tall piece of sculpture or a nice indoor tree on the other side of the sofa for balance. When you acquire a large painting, you can hang it above the sofa and move the smaller piece and the sculpture to other places.”
Most say that a good rule of thumb is to hang a work lower than what your instincts say is right. Kanuth agrees: “People tend to hang pictures too high, and when a painting is too high, you can’t connect with it.” Try measuring one-third of the way down from the top of the composition and use that point for eye level. Interior designer Toby Zack, who owned an art gallery for five years, says that the most glaring mistakes usually involve scale and proportion. “You could adore a painting, but if it’s the wrong scale and proportion for the space it will throw off the balance of the entire room,” she explains. “There’s usually another place for everything, so don’t give up on the piece, just move it around.” If you want to be as sure as possible, Kanuth says, “Before you hang a new painting, lean it up against the wall and study it for a while. Keep rotating it until you feel a kinship between the space and the piece.”
Art is about mood, says architect Rene Gonzalez, who designed the renovated lobby at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) in North Miami, and CIFO, an art gallery for the Cisneros Fontanals Art Foundation. “When I select or hang pieces, I think about how I want the space to feel,” he says. “I take into consideration whether my clients want a room to feel sedate or dynamic because that will determine whether I hang one large piece or a series of smaller pieces." He used a grouping in a condominium that he recently completed at Aqua to counterbalance a wall of windows that overlook the ocean. “One static, heavy painting would have created a symmetrical, heavy space,” he explains, “so we grouped smaller pieces that had a calming quality to make the room feel light and airy.”
If you’re a lover of sculpture, there is one very important thing to remember: People sometimes make the mistake of cramming sculpture into the corner or against a wall, but it is meant to be seen from all sides, so place it so that it can be viewed in the round. Wall color is another sticky subject that has some experts contradicting themselves. “People shouldn’t be afraid of using color on the walls,” says Kanuth; “although if they have a big collection, white is always good because it shows off the colorful pieces best.” White is de la Cruz’s choice on walls, and she shies away from colorful furniture as well: “We do not want any colors conflicting with the art unless the artist specifically asks for it.”
Still confused? That’s normal in the beginning because each rule is subjective. “At first it is overwhelming and you feel a little bit dumb, but don’t be intimidated or get discouraged,” says de la Cruz; “just keep learning.” Interior designer Juan Carlos Arcila-Duque, who has amassed an enviable collection of photography from the 1920s to the 1990s and is the chair of the junior host committee for Art Basel Miami Beach, agrees. “Little by little, you will be able to display things with greater confidence,” he says. “Some people are afraid to even start collecting because they feel like they have to build a big collection to be respected as a collector, but that’s not true. Small collections can be very charming.”
They are also easier to manage if the thought of rearranging things each time you snag a treasure gives you heart palpitations! Christine Taplin, who owns The Sagamore Art Hotel with husband Martin and curates the art collection there, has been collecting for years, but she still feels a spike of anxiety each time she buys a piece. “Usually I’m nervous about it because I’m excited and the adrenaline’s going,” she explains. “It’s like horseracing or gambling in a sense because it’s such a rush; but then reality sets in and you have to figure out how you’re going to install it!”
Rene Gonzalez is one of the architects featured in my book Four Florida Moderns, which will launch this week at Books & Books and DWR on Lincoln Road. I'll be posting Art Basel Miami Beach- and Design Miami-related happenings to my Facebook fan pages and will be tweeting throughout the week ahead. To see my favorite painting containing a chair, visit Chair Chick, and to see a survey of the i-Art Movement, founded by Alejandro Vigilante, visit my International Design Examiner page.
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