Some Unsolicited Advice for the General Art Buying Public

While at the Paradise City - Philadelphia show a couple of weeks ago I came to the conclusion that the general public is in need of some unsolicited advice about buying art. I have noticed that on occasion, people will get hung up on the colors in a work of art and they become concerned about how art will "go" with the colors in the room they envision it -- the rug, the curtains, the couch, etc. I realize that my advice will sound self-serving but, in being as objective as I can be, please believe me when I say:

DON'T WORRY ABOUT MATCHING COLORS OF A WORK OF ART WITH THE "DECOR" OF A ROOM!

Art does not have to "go" with your carpet, curtains, etc, unless you really aren't interested in looking at the art. If you want it to "match" you are creating a situation in which the work of art will just blend into the background and not be seen.

At the show, I, perhaps undiplomatically, mentioned to a neighboring artist, Jorge Caligiuri (an excellent contemporary fresco artist whose work you should check-out) my theory that interior designers sometimes impart these kind of ideas in order to confuse clients and make them dependent on their services, to which he told me that he was an interior designer and that he would never do that, but that he agreed with me on both points. In fact he said it was "crazy" to try and "match" your art with your room's decor. So there you have it, a certifiable interior designer also agrees, if you have any doubts please contact Jorge for his advice and services.

The bottom line is that people just confuse themselves in trying to envision what colors are in a room and whether they "go" with the art they are looking at and make their art buying decisions much harder than they need to be, and lord knows selling art is already hard enough without having to deal with misinformation and confused customers.

In reality, when you look at art, you aren't looking at the rest of the decor in a room. And further, if you are looking at a room as a whole from a distance, a work of art that doesn't match the rest of a room will stand out and be seen. Do you really want to buy art that you will never see or appreciate?

So when buying art, buy what you like, not what matches your decor. Just thought I needed to clarify this point. Hope it helps. Please let me know your thoughts and experiences on the subject.