Ten Steps to Purchase Contemporary Art

People need a realistic approach when they shop to buy contemporary art. Prices can be exorbitant and it is important to have some knowledge and some discipline before shopping or negotiating a price or a commission for various works of art.  Everyone wants good decor at home and in the office; this is a good reason to buy original art.  The other reason for selecting original art works is that they may increase in value, rather than decrease, in the way a new automobile’s value can decrease.  The main reason to buy modern contemporary art is that it is an original and one of a kind piece of art – not an overpriced limited edition poster in an overpriced matte and an overpriced frame. Even large corporate art buyers must consider  price when shopping for new acquisitions.  Corporate art collections may express interest in one or another kind of art. This is because the corporation is following the ideas of the executives or committees involved in the collection just as an individual might have certain interest areas in buying.

The best part of buying modern art is that contemporary artists are still producing collectible works that reflect our modern world.  These artists are much more affordable than the masters of past ages. And modern art can be found in
many more styles than older works.  Even corporations want quality art for the best price available. You can use the
same valuable methods to purchase art as the experienced art buyers with this list of ten steps to buy art – purchase
from contemporary artists.  Here are the ten steps.

1) Do a serious search of available art in local and regional galleries.  Talk to gallerists, try to meet the artists who exhibit there, talk to other collectors. This provides you with lots of basic information as you begin to shop for your purchase of contemporary art.

2) Visit the library to view print and microform holdings   on contemporary art. Note the names of the modern artists that you are attracted to. What media do they use?  Just search until you begin to see the kind of work that holds your
interest.

3) Conduct searches on the internet. Search for artist websites, search by medium or style of art you enjoy.  You will find some good websites on the search results pages that will provide a wealth of information and variety.

4) Family and friends can offer opinion that may help your decision-making process about art for the home. You can ask associates and neighboring businesses for ideas on sources to make your shopping easier.

5) Attend auctions to find good prices on the kind of art that suits your decor and other needs. Concern with size, color, general feeling tone of the art is an important consideration, as is price.

6) When you have found three or four artists who have works that are within your price range you should contact them personally. Some artists with contractual arrangements will refer you to a broker or gallery that handles their business. If you are referred to a broker or gallery then these paintings and sculptures will cost considerably more, sometimes 300 to 400% more, because the broker or gallery must pay overhead and make a substantial profit.  Try to talk to the artist.

7) Once you have contacted the artist just let the artist know that you are interested in purchasing some of their original paintings, not giclee’s or copies.  Offer to negotiate for more than one piece of art, or to purchase more than one painting or to try to commission a painting by size, color or subject matter.

8) If the artist has a website this can be handled by email.   You may want to see the artist’s works and talk to the artist in person before buying anything – and that is a good idea. If you see works that you like mention them. Websites should show the title and media of the painting as well as size and price.

9) If you see prices that you like then you will have no problem buying these unique, original paintings. However, prices can be negotiated downward, especially for buying more than one painting.

10) You can request and usually get a discount, but don’t expect to get anything much over 50% off. There are reasons for this. First of all art materials and supplies are very expensive in recent years. Frames have gone up astronomically, so gallery wrapping the canvas is usually less expensive, yet even the very most expensive galleries sell gallery wrapped paintings. Also the artist must store the art and advertise it among many other expenses.

There you have ten steps to purchase contemporary art.  Good luck in your search and may you fully enjoy the discovery process as much as the art that you buy.

- Brad Bannister

Well Known Abstract Artists – Famous Nonobjective Painters and Sculptors

Please send your website link here as a comment to be considered for link inclusion to this list:  Well Known Abstract Artists – Famous Nonobjective Painters and Sculptors.

Vincenzo Balsamo – Sophisticated colors and geometric compositions in abstract paintings

Zachary Brown – A young and promising painter with a good start – check out his pages.

Jaison Cianelli – An array of abstract landscapes and nonobjective paintings.

Keith Garrow Abstract Paintings – Paintings with form and color on a great website.

Ernie Gerzabek – Very strong geometric abstract paintings, as well as bas-relief and landscapes.

Harry Gruenert – Fine color and textural field abstract, nonobjective paintings.

Hiroshi Matsumoto – Colorful abstract paintings with very textural elements.

Joshua Duncan – Abstract fantasy paintings with interesting figurative and symbolic content.

Shawn McNulty – Fine abstract paintings with interesting color and great texture.

Anne Stahl – Beautiful abstract paintings of landscape with great color and texture.

Lynne Taetzsch - Spontaneous, colorful, abstract paintings by a very creative and established artist.

Robert Terrell - Very interesting and colorful abstract style on both canvas and furniture

Abstract Painter: CHRISTOPHER MARTIN

The Abstract Paintings website offers desired information for readers interested in abstract art and nonobjective painting.  I often see the interesting work of nonobjective painters on the web.  Recently I spoke with Christopher Martin of Dallas about his work.  We decided to do an interview and share it with readers.  Christopher has a good website at http://www.christopherhmartin.com/ .  But I will add two images of Christopher’s work here.

1) Christopher, will you tell us why you became focused on abstract and nonobjective art as opposed to more representational forms of expression? “The unlimited nature of nonobjective imagery seems to be tied very closely to the individuality of its creator, when it’s expressed truly it conveys his or her essence. This is not evident in the single piece, but rather the collective total of that pursuit. I find it is the most telling way for me to stay connected to my personal creative enthusiasm and for longevity in process that is the key to staying productive.”

2)  What artists’ works have you found to be most inspirational to your own style? “Ross Bleckner, Brice Marden, Adolph Gottlieb. . . from an aesthetic sense. Others also influence my style of work ethic and business sense, such as Warhol, Hurst, Picasso – the greats that made a game out of the established art world and won so big. Too many influences to list.”

3)  Some critics might question the eclecticism of your work, particularly within the nonobjective paintings.  What is your position on stylistic range in your own work? “I look at my paintings as a collective family of relationships and principals . Each piece has an inherent relationship to all that came before it. The family tree has several dead ends and many ideas and applications that have been there for 17 years. As far as critical concern for this I wouldn’t really have much thought on that other than I appreciate them contemplating my efforts.”

4)  Do you have any upcoming projects that you would talk about now? “Yes, I have some interesting commissions I am working on.”

5)  Do you have any issues with the recent trends in the art world in the USA or more locally?  “ The issues I have with the Art world are not trends, there are some fundamental workings of it that I see as contradictory or hypocritical but nothing new. . . “

6)  Can you describe some of the processes or flow of  consciousness in regard to your own creative workings. “It is all about attaining nature in my work. . . period – that is my quest, to look at it and feel nature’s influences guided by my brush.”

Thank you Christopher.  I hope your work continues and I wish you continued success.

- Brad Bannister



Abstract Painting or Nonobjective Painting?

In the art world, as happens in many other worlds, there may occasionally be a discussion so esoteric that a meaningful analysis must question everything from semantics to physics to psychology.  That kind of discussion arises from time to time about the nature of contemporary abstract painting. Is it abstract painting or nonobjective painting?

It doesn’t sound like a particularly juicy topic. But, it seems there are critics, painters, and innocent bystanders who have felt the heat from these discussions. No painting can actually fully portray any other object or idea or feeling – so, all art is abstracted to one degree or another.

People who think about art prefer objective definitions in sometimes subjectively decided areas of reference. The easiest approach to this kind of discussion would be to outline a set of characteristic variables for differentiation of abstract painting from nonobjective painting. Then ascribe some markers along each continuum, and finally, do the math.

After all, if science can reclassify Pluto as a non-planet, then art people should also be allowed to digress in areas less defined.

The problem develops on many points: 1) Does the artist portray or suggest any images of real-world objects? 2) Does a painting use any depicted structures that approach a form even roughly geometrical? 3) Does the artist use characters – letters, numbers, symbols – in the painting? 4) Is the character of line such that it qualifies as writing or script or the outline of some thing 5) Can we determine if a form or suggested form was intentionally rendered by the artist, subconsciously rendered by the artist, or mistakenly rendered by the artist? 6) Are patterns or near-patterns a meaningful coding of a language or a pictorial sequence? 7) Is a paintstroke or other application itself a form, an object or a depiction of another form. And so on.

Granted, if you get into a discussion like this it could shake your interest in talking about art. God strengthen any artist who would push through these questions, especially if emanating from a tense mob. Of course, Van Gogh had his soul and Jackson Pollock had his unconscious.

That artists and critics seek, or create, these kinds of reasons and definitions speaks to the wish to understand abstract painting as opposed to nonobjective painting. People willing to offer some simple platitude or rule of thumb in these discussions may suffer burning at the stake or a trip to the gulag.

Many artists just don’t talk about it. They may be shielded from it by dealer or friends. Some artists affect their own
nonverbal language to ignore or escape the heat. Others speak long and loud with the assurance that they are expected to be passionate and not fully rational about their work processes.  Others DO what they DO – they just get IT – they got IT when their favorite rolemodel artists did IT – and they still get IT.   Whatever “IT” is is just either gotten or not gotten.

This is especially tragic for the viewer or critic or collector that can never fully let go of the idea that “art must mean something”. It MUST have some objective message! It MUST be about something! It’s meaning MUST be deep in the colors and rhythms of the work! The artist MUST have depicted his/her feelings. . . yes, even a particular, pure feeling – one that we can locate and define if we will only search endlessly with deep intuition!  Wow, I feel their need!

Many artists do not want to paint meaning. These artists purposefully exclude objective, logical, semantic or philosophical features from their compositions. In the matter of feelings, most artists will say something as to the extent that their feelings were part of the creative process or the final product. Whether their feelings ARE the object of depiction is really almost impossible to discuss.

Discussion is usually a good thing, but most of us want a little closure after a discussion – as to our thoughts or beliefs about a topic. When you ask art people about their resolutions on a topic you will hear a variety of ideas. Some of these ideas come off as tentative and somewhat simplified explanations. Which is what I will give now.

Abstract Painting intentionally contains a representational version, however modified, of an existing form or fragments of forms taken from the real world. Nonobjective Painting is any composition devoid of intentional suggestion of any real world objects or cognitive messages, but possibly containing geometric or patterned displays.

There, I’ve said it! That is the closure on the topic that I prefer and defend.

Tia Marks

Tia Marks was the Executive-Editor of Contemporary Art Gallery – Magazine for Galleries and Art Business. CAG specialized in nonobjective painting, artist interviews and exhibitions.

Nonobjective Painting – Art Without Meaning?

Can art be of importance without meaning? Must “good” art convey the zeitgeist of the times in which it was created?
Does “depth of meaning” correlate directly to “goodness” of art?

A definition of terms here would be of value but the terms in question are so based on individual and subjective opinion that the definitions would also be questioned.

Abstract painting, particularly the nonobjective painting of many artists since the 1940s is arguably devoid of meaning.  In fact many artists want it that way. They prefer to see purely compositional factors, the tenets of design as the measure of their works. Does this relegate them to the level of design, not truly “high art”?

Abstract paintings can do two things. 1) They can ascend to the highest level of design, and 2) they may transcend it to
“high art.” Just as Kurt Schwitters paper snips transcend the craft of hobbyists cutting paper, and Joseph Cornell’s boxes transcend the craft of cabinet makers or box designers – so can an abstract paintings transcend design.

The criteria of the word “meaning” needs some discussion in my opinion.  The “meanings” that some narrow-sighted critics refer to as being the paramount criterion of “high art” usually revolve around historic, philosophic, and religious dimensions. These meanings purportedly reflect the highest ideals and aspirations of man and God.

I appreciate meanings as much as the next person. I like the classical, epic struggles of mythology, the ancient renditions of the history of the world, the religious icons of every century, the struggles of mankind and every individual in mankind. These  all contain wonderful meanings and certainly worthy of artistic depiction.

Now consider the meaning of a man or woman who struggles to create pure beauty, the artist. The artist who wants to create not only “high art” but does so without the tools of religious thought, without the maps of cultural revolutions, without the applause of an informed and socially motivated political movement, without the traditions of a craftsmens guild. Consider this courageous individual who creates original works.

These individuals not only attempt real, although only mortal, creation at its highest level – they do so in a unique and hardwon individual style. In addition, their work is meant to free, and amplify your perception of art and beauty in all of its mysterious manifestations.

That “is” meaning. You can witness this meaning in its record of each abstract painting. No, not every painting is a masterpiece of design – and these works can’t fall back on a cliche’ or a social nomenclature to gain acceptance. This kind of work stands as a testament to a real struggle to push something to the highest level of art with no help from all the other “manifold meaning packages” that were the reason for art in previous centuries.

Tia Marks

Tia Marks was the Executive-Editor of Contemporary Art Gallery – Magazine for Galleries and Art Business. CAG specialized in nonobjective painting, artist interviews and exhibitions.

Call for Abstract Painting Images or Nonobjective Art Essays

This blog is dedicated to showing the best available examples of nonobjective art work images by abstract artists working in a nonrepresentational style. Please contact me if you want to exhibit an image or contribute a brief note or essay on abstract painting or nonobjective art works.  – Brad Bannister

“No – Si” Acrylic on Canvas 48″ x 36″ 1999 by Brad Bannister