Art is everywhere, but that doesn’t mean you can’t also have your very own collection full of pieces that are personal and speak to you. Still, when starting an art collection, you should ensure that you keep things varied, so you don’t end up with an assortment of pieces that all look and feel the same. Read on to learn some tips for maintaining a unique art collection.
Be a Record Keeper
With a unique collection, you’ll likely have different pieces from various artists over a long period. You won’t solely have one artist’s particular movement and know everything about the pieces. Instead, each piece will have a different story, and you must record that story to the best of your ability. Without proper record keeping, the history of a work can get lost to time, and it can then lose its value as the context fades away. Help each piece hold onto its history by keeping information about it, who made it, how the artist created it, and its story. Doing this makes your collection an encyclopedia of art and history instead of a simple gallery.
Spice Up the Medium
One interesting way to make your collection more unique and keep it that way is to embrace alternative mediums. Art is not limited to just paintings—instead, there is a wide range of mediums that different artists have embraced over the year, including mixed media, film, and music, among many others. Only sticking to one medium can make your collection feel bland and derivative. Other mediums, like sculptures, are essential to art collections because they showcase the various techniques and styles in the art world that you’re missing out on when you only embrace one medium. Spice up your collection with different styles from different mediums and movements over the years, and you’ll have a truly unique collection.
Recognize the Uniqueness
In addition to spicing up your collection with different pieces from different mediums, you’ll need to care for those pieces properly. Maintaining a painting differs from maintaining a sculpture or work of mixed media, and you must recognize this before encountering issues farther down the line. For example, some sculptures can react very differently to harsh sunlight depending on the medium. Dust is a common occurrence in any collection, and you can respond to it similarly despite the medium, but sunlight impacts art differently. A painting can fade with direct sunlight, and bronze sculptures can lose their original colors because of oxidation. Take these factors into account early so you can adequately maintain your unique pieces and hold on to their original glory.
Maintaining a unique art collection is not always easy, but with these simple tips, you’ll be able to create an art collection that no one can replicate. It will be wholly unique, entirely yours, and reflect your personality and relationship to art.
