Harmon-Meek – Ask the Artsperts – February 2015

Dear Artspert:

Just curious, where is the most unusual place you have hung a painting?

Signed,
Hung Up

Dear Hung Up,

“DRIVE MY WIFE” BY GREG CONSTANTINE, STYRENE PAINTED OIL AND ACRYLIC, 25” X 36”, 2013
(SIMILAR TO THE WORK HUNG IN A GARAGE IN NAPLES

Collectors of art, like collectors of anything, can find ways to display their passion in just about any place in their home. Probably the vast majority of our installations in clients’ homes are over living room couches, dining room credenzas, and beds. Our dad likes to joke that he has been in more beds in Naples than any other happily married man in town! But we also have had some more creative requests.

One collector has every wall filled to the extent that guests often remarked that they only have room on the ceiling. So indeed a work of art managed to find its way onto a ceiling in their home. It happened that a painting that caught their eye was of four women of four generations tossing coins into a well (a wishing well we presume). When hung in a traditional manner the painting left two women sideways and one upside down but when hung on the ceiling it made more sense to the viewer because now the viewer is standing below the women as if inside the well. We took special care to ensure gravity would not cause the canvas to sag or worse the painting to fall.

COLLEEN BROWNING OIL ON CANVAS ON THE CEILING OF A PRIVATE HOME IN NAPLES.BRONZE, 5 ¼” X 13 ¼”, 1963

Last year we were asked to hang five large oil paintings on canvas by Bob Kane on the outside walls of a Port Royal lanai. The patio overhang extended enough that afternoon sunlight would not be a factor and automatic screens could also protect from other elements. But still there were other issues to address, namely the concern over humidity issues with respect to the canvas. We devised a solution to overcome these issues along with locks to secure the paintings to the outside walls.

We even hung a painting in someone’s garage this fall. It was a work by pop-artist Greg Constantine who creates what appear to be actual automobile license plates with interesting sayings created on a series of different plates he creates from using styrene and acrylic paint. The collector thought that the saying “Never drive faster than your guardian angel can fly” was a good thing to look at before backing out of her garage to venture out on to the roadways.

Who knows what requests may come, but we love the challenge and love that people want to surround themselves with art, everywhere!

Sincerely,
The Artsperts