Tips on how to purchase art for your home
DAVID TAFFET | Senior Staff Writer
taffet@dallasvoice.com
Chris Huffman, gallery manager at Maestri Gallery on Exposition Avenue near Fair Park, said many of his clients are beginning collectors. “If you like it, then get it,” he said is his initial piece of advice on how to choose art.
Talk to people at galleries and find someone you trust, he added, but warns, “If a gallery is showing above your budget, you’re not in the right place.”
Don’t buy a piece to match the color scheme, Huffman said. Because after a few years, you’ll repaint; different colors will come into fashion. The art you purchase should transcend fads in color.
“As a design studio, we’re not about matching art to the sofa,” Huffman said. The sofa will wear out; art doesn’t wear out.
Don’t buy a large piece because you have a large wall, Huffman said. That eight-foot space can be taken up by two four-foot canvasses. Ask yourself if you’ll always have that eight-foot space. “Do multiples,” he said.People move, and many down-size. Buy art you will have space to exhibit for the next 15 to 25 years.
Buy pieces that are meaningful to you, Huffman said, adding that in his own collection he has works he purchased on trips to Europe, New York and Austin, as well as pieces that are important to him because they’re the work of a friend.
As you’re learning to trust your own instincts, find someone to work with, Huffman suggested. “Someone who will look out for your best interests,” he said. By that, he means that you should look for someone with connections around the country who will look for pieces that work in your collection.
And finally Huffman said, “Buy something because you feel a connection to it.” In other words, acquire art because you love it.
