Plains Indian Art

The London art gallery experiences is renowned the world over, with establishments such as the Saachi gallery, and events such as the Frieze Art fair, the capital has a reputation for showcasing some of the best artists from around the world. We take a brief look at some of the past exhibitions that have had major coverage in the art press that have been based in London.

Damien Hurst is well known as one of the most notorious Young British Artists. With works consisting of animals in formaldehyde and diamond encrusted skulls, his context has a commentary that relates to death and identity. A London art gallery exhibition featuring a crucified sheep in a triptych was showcased next to a retrospective of the work of Francis Bacon.

Before his death, Bacon heralded Hurst’s work as a major and important contribution to the art world, and as such would have been happy to have had a joint exhibition. The sheep triptych mirrored the aesthetics of Bacon’s paintings and worked well in context too, a mix of death and identity.

Although the mediums were a world apart, the subject matter was easy to connect and it was obvious that Hurst has long been in awe of the paintings that Bacon has produced over his lifetime. The exhibition purposely featured works that complemented one another in a feat of curator genius. Francis Bacon had a much larger show at Tate Britain recently, where work that was separated into eras of the painter’s life showed the progression of his style.

The most notable feature was that over his life, the subject matter in his work never changed, and apart from a brief diversion in style that paid tribute to Van Gogh, mutilated figures and a specific palette spoke volumes about his battle with identity and public image. Just before his death however, a lightness came into his work, and one painting held a Hockney aesthetic. The blue palette and a sense of stillness seemed to show that Bacon had found peace against his personal battles.

London art gallery exhibitions such as these give the viewer a greater insight into the work of artists, their interaction with each other, the influences exerted, and above all, a contextualisation of progression. Without these major exhibitions it is not possible to truly appreciate the work of great artists, as each art work or exhibition is a small slice of an ever progressing body of work.

Almost all of us would have visited a traditional gallery or museum containing art exhibits at one time or another. But have you ever visited a modern art gallery? Now you might be wondering what that is! Different people might have different interpretations for it, but I wish to use that term to refer to a virtual museum or gallery. A traditional museum is where real, physical exhibits are displayed in physical space. On the other hand, a modern gallery is one in which virtual exhibits are displayed in a virtual world that exists in cyberspace. You cannot touch and feel the exhibits, but you can still get a pretty good feel of how they would look in the real world.

The real convenience of a modern art gallery is the ease with which you can set it up. If you are an artist and would like to set up a display to showcase your art, you can just photograph your work and create a virtual gallery within a couple of minutes. What would probably cost you thousands of dollars to set up using traditional methods would hardly cost you a few dollars, using the virtual approach. You do not have to pay for expensive floor space, maintenance costs, electricity and other expenses normally associated with maintaining a real art museum.

You might however want to keep a few things in mind while conceptualizing and designing your modern art gallery. Since the viewers cannot touch and feel the exhibits, you need to enhance the virtual experience using various methods.

For instance, you can display each exhibit in different resolutions so that they can view it in different sizes and get a feel of how the art work would look up close as well as when viewed from a distance. A good write up describing the piece of work would also go a long way in helping them know more about the exhibit. Probably the most attractive feature of a modern art museum is the fact that visitors can observe your work from the comfort of their living room and still have the satisfaction of viewing good art.

Art promotion or a gallery exhibition is often a normal event in the art world. The same goes for a studio or gallery promotion. Unlike a one time, spectacle event celebration of an artist’s new visual art, performance art, sculpture or installation collection, an art gallery is a business establishment. Just like any, it needs a marketing plan and promotional programs to gain profit. When a gallery’s potential market is set in a local residential or mixed neighborhood smaller, more affordable print collaterals can create more of a personal and effective connection with customers. Below are some ideas on how to promote an art gallery or studio using small print materials.

o Postcards-Postcards are handy, highly artistic promotional mediums. Materials such as these can be well-received and appreciated, particularly when they feature famous art. Each postcard design can be unique. There is no need to go beyond budget on materials like this. Online print services today offer cheap postcards printing for bulk orders. What’s more, the design; such as post card dimensions, orientation, finish even paper stock can be customized according to a gallery’s image or concept. Postcards are highly personable and can be mailed as a birthday, anniversary, or thank you gift.

o Catalogs- Printing an art catalog not only serves a means for transmitting information but it is visually stimulating as well. Art catalogs can be given away as gifts for loyal customers. For first time artists and dealers, they can serve as nifty gifts that may increase recall or referral rates. Each catalog can showcase the gallery’s most successful shows, priciest collections, art sales, or it can be kept at the gallery for customer reference on art prizes, specifications, artists and availability.

o Calendars-Art calendars are an effective medium to showcase art, convey information, promote a gallery and serve a pragmatic purpose. Sending them as gifts to customers strengthens personal relationships and customer relations. Calendar prints are easy to design and print with custom or standard options offered by print companies.