Displaying Art, Part 2: Lighting
When you collect new art pieces, you most
likely want to have them on display in your home or office, so you and guests
can admire them. Having your art well and correctly displayed is an important
proponent in its overall appearance and how you enjoy it. Proper lighting can
make or break the appearance of the artwork. A piece that is poorly or
improperly lit can cause it to lose its intended appearance and beauty. Below
will reveal how to illuminate artwork efficiently.
Art Placement
When choosing the right lighting techniques
for displaying your artwork, it’s a good rule of thumb to remember light has
the potential to damage art over time. As mentioned in our previous blog, never
place art near a window or in a position where sunlight hits it directly.
Although natural light can illuminate the piece well, it also causes the artwork's
color to fade away over time and distort the image. For this reason, when it
comes to adequately lighting art, it’s best to stick with artificial light.
Bulbs & Temperature
When choosing which bulbs to use to highlight
your pieces, LED’s are the best option. They release no UV and very little
heat, so your pieces are never damaged from them.
Additionally, these energy-efficient bulbs
will last longer than other types, so you don’t have to worry about changing
them out often.
Next let’s discuss the color and temperature
of the bulbs. The best temperature to use for lighting up artwork is 4000K. The
color emitted from these bulbs produces a higher, whiter temperature. This
means the whites presented within the pieces remain white rather than appearing
discolored. Other bulbs with different temperatures can cause the pieces to
appear too warm or too cool. For this reason, we suggest using 4000K bulbs which
will allow the colors within the art to be displayed as they were intended.
Below is are sample photos of how the color shifts (coolness and warmth) with
the change in temperature.
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Photo credit: Franklin Arts
(If you are interested in learning more
about the different temperatures used with displaying art, we suggest taking a
look at this article we love so much: https://www.franklinarts.com/blog/entry/in-pursuit-of-perfect-light-for-wall-art.)
Lighting & Angles
The physical styles of lighting and beam angles
you’ll use for displaying your artwork depends on the art pieces themselves and
your aesthetic preferences. Accent lights, track lights, and wall washers are
different ways you can choose to illuminate your art.
If you want to spotlight artwork directly,
ceiling-mounted accent lights are the best option. These lights are adjustable,
as well as the light-beam range. This allows the piece to be highlighted
entirely rather than just partially. To avoid casting a shadow on the piece,
you should place these lights so that the beam hits the center of the work.
For those who want to accessorize the space
with their lighting, track lights are a great option. These minimalistic lights
offer the same benefits as the accent lights mentioned previously, as they are
also adjustable. However, unlike ceiling mounted lights, track lights are hung
on the wall and can be moved quite easily. This is great if you decide to move
an art piece to a different room or wall because the lights can be moved along
with it.
If you are looking for a simple but effective
alternative to highlighting artwork, we suggest wall washers. These lights are
the most accessible form of lighting and are the easiest to use. Wall washers
are available in various forms, including surface-mounted lights (directly
mounted onto the surface) and track-mounted (mounted onto a fixture) lights
placed on the wall, ceiling, or floor. Wall washers illuminate the entire wall,
so they are great for highlighting multiple works. If you are a casual art
collector, these lights are perfect.
We hope these tips help you illuminate the art
within your home or office! If you want to learn more about the best ways to
display pieces, be sure to check out our first blog on the topic and stay tuned
for more to come. You can also stop by our gallery or give us a call, and we’d
be happy to discuss how we work one-on-one with clients.
Gallery phone number: (228) 215-1343
(228) 215-134
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