A thing of beauty on the wall

Homes are intrinsically personal spaces and are a reflection of who you are. One way in which you can reflect your personality is to use art in home decor. And wait, art has another dimension – that of investment. Yes, art is a great way to make your money work and your home dazzle.

Being arty

So how does one choose art for a home? Well, simply speaking, colour is the key. Pick artwork that contains some of your room design’s more attention grabbing colours. “A piece with similar or complementary colours can work great as well. Take into account your wall colour, furnishings, pillows, throws and curtains to create a palette of colours to look for in your artwork,” advices Surabhi Mittal, founder, RevivedbySurabhi.

Art is a place for expression through colour, content, and texture. “Over the years, the fundamental way of looking at art has become more contemporary and it is here to stay. While buying any art, people majorly look at budgets, functionality, alongside aesthetics. Now, while choosing art for home, people also look at the possibility of frequent change as they want to change the look of their decor every three to six months,” says Arun Roongta, Director, HGH India.

Decor matters

Art is a personal element in a home and there can be multiple ways to place a piece of art in one’s home depending on the art and how an individual perceives the particular piece. Kritika Mahindra, co-founder, Art on the Wall, advises, “One must invest a lot of time and thinking in deciding where you would want to display the art. The satisfaction of having and displaying the artwork of your likings and emotional connect would play a vital role in this.”

Most importantly there should be a theme to the decor and it needs to blend in with the other aspects of home. Abhijit Saigaonkar of PPROM Group explains, “There is no any specific rules that are applicable for an art it is an inspiration. We only have to follow the basics. Any art which is merged with local environment with its outer presence like shape, colour and placement is perfect art for particular space only.”

Art attack

It is better to concentrate on the meaning behind the artwork rather than the work itself. “If the work is aesthetically weak but has a good story or a likeable mythological tale behind the work people go in for it. And at times, an abstract work could be sensitive and very well executed in terms of colour and composition, but people will dismiss it because they will try to find a suitable meaning behind it,” says Uday Jain, Proprietor, Dhoomimal Gallery.

Try and set themes for rooms, and use art to complement the theme. “Consider colour palettes and paint textures used in different rooms. Ensure that you instruct the help at home how to clean and care for the art. Protect your art with solid frames with glass covers, once damaged, it loses a lot of its value,” says Triveni V Cotha, Director C Krishniah Chetty Group of Jewellers.

Aradhana Dalmia, artist and founder of The Artemist avers, “If someone has a graphical or patterned wallpaper or background, an abstract piece of art with a solid colour will break the pattern and create a statement. On the other hand, a textured or single coloured background can be complimented with an intricate or traditional piece of art. Doing the reverse would make the space either extremely loud or subtle.”

Return on investment

Darshan Shah, Chairman, Isprava says, “Art globally is considered to be one of the best asset classes with a potential growth of anywhere between 30% and 50% per annum. It is therefore important to purchase an art piece from well-known artists.” The rarity of an art work gives it value, so an original art piece will always be worth more than a reproduction, print or serigraph.

Sonika Chaturvedi, head of operations, Courtyard by Marriott and Fairfield by Marriott advices, “In case one is looking for art as an investment, then, one needs to study the art market, just like one would study the stock or real estate market before investing, know the artists, right price to buy and anticipated appreciation over time. Museums, auction houses, art reviews can be a good start point.”

Uzma Irfan, founder, Sublime Galleria, adds, “Another way in which art can be considered an investment is if the buyer has a budget to buy the work of upcoming artists who are on their way to becoming masters. This is mostly done by going into auctions, and can be a large investment to make. To be able to identify the right artist and invest this sum wisely, it is important to have a lot of exposure to the field. Finally, the works of renowned artists will continue to be in demand and therefore, considered a great investment, if one has the budget available to buy their work.”

Shibani Jain, founder & CEO, Baaya Design, explains, “Do not buy art just to match decor. One should buy art that one relates to and resonates with a space. You must ask for a Certificate of Authenticity to validate that it is a painting commissioned by a true artist and not a copy.” Painters of the centuries are still going strong as also the contemporary artists and the young upcoming set of artists are doing exceptionally great in the art field.

“The works produced give good competition to the masters due to their affordability factors and also been purchased not only by classes but masses too,” concludes Malvika Jain, freelance visual artist.