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Salon Hang - how to's
Salon Hang - how to's
WHAT IS A SALON HANG? WHAT ARE THE PROS & CONS? (hint… it's all pros no cons)
Down below, I will outline some ways we can help if you ever need it.
🎨 Historically, the “Salon Style Hang” originated in the 17th Century in Paris for the annual French Royal Academy salon. Back in the day, a “Salon” was arranged to exhibit the best works by art students at the Royal Academy, alongside artworks of masters of the time. You felt pretty spiffy if you were invited to hang!!
🎨 Paintings basically covered the walls from floor to ceiling to cater to the amount of work produced, and they included an eclectic spread of sizes and genres.
🎨 Some art galleries today exhibit in this way in one or more of their rooms. Lately, in decoring circles, the Salon Hang has enjoyed a resurgence of popularity with an immeasurable array of approaches.
Basically, the main objective of a Salon Hang (sometimes called a 'gallery hang' or a mixed artwork suite, or collection) in a home setting is to have
A. A COHESIVE HANGING PLAN
Find one uniting element that creates coherence amongst the collection of works (rarely are they a symmetrical display in rows of same-sized pieces with exactly the same frame now…ZZzzzzzz)
Examples of ways to unite the collection
🎨 all frames are somehow related eg. timber tones/ different shapes, all white but different styles, metallic, black, all wide, all narrow but not so matchy-matchy if you want to avoid a boring, uniform look (there is a middle area of compromise)
🎨 all art pieces could share a common theme eg. figures, abstract, marine
🎨 all pieces share a common colour, colour accent or colour harmony ie. monochromatic, a dash of red in some, a hint of blues etc, all earthy tones
🎨 all pieces are of a similar approach ie. all drawings, all watercolours, all mixed media, all photographs
Here below, is an ocean-related artwork, and on either side, two personalised salon hangs of holiday photos, mostly involving water. Notice that there is a mixture of contrasting frames (dark timber and light timbers), reflected in the floors and furniture as well.
PLANNING IT ALL OUT WITH TEMPLATES OF PAPER
B. TIPS TO KEEP IN MIND
☞ Use Asymmetrical Balance
☞ For a more organized look (to balance off the asymmetry), line up one edge of the new piece in your collection with the predetermined common space(eg.2 to 8cm) to near the edge of one already up creating at least a few common axes. (unless totally higgledy-piggledy is what you are after)
☞ Start with a larger piece and build around it
☞ Start at eye level and build around it (leave at least 30cm clear (plus room for your next planned piece in that direction) above a sofa or piece of furniture
☞ Keep the sizes reasonably/vaguely similar (arranged around a larger piece first) ie. not hugely different sizes. Avoid adding much larger pieces around the edges if you can (sometimes you can't avoid it in the ongoing building phase, )
☞ You do not want to rehang every time you make additions so try to keep the spaces between each piece fairly consistent to help with balance
☞ As you add pieces, work in a somewhat balanced pattern adding around the edges and alternating on each side to keep the balance as you go.
☞☞☞Before you start pounding nails in the wall, draw a rough draft of your composition on a sheet of paper. Then if you want to take another step for accuracy's sake—ensuring that scale and balance are decided—map out your lineup of images with butcher's paper, cutting out silhouettes and taping(or blutak) them to the wall. Leave the paper plan up for a few days and see how it feels. Change up the arrangement if it just doesn’t feel right. Then once you feel like you’ve created a balanced gallery wall, hang your artwork where its paper proxy found it’s place.
GREAT FOR NEW COLLECTORS
Couples or singles starting out with nesting/establishing their own place can often not afford a huge artwork for every(or any) wall.
They can register with an artist or gallery (hint hint, the Port Art collective) that has art to their shared tastes and give this registry’s details to all family and friends so that for birthdays, graduations, engagements, Christmas etc, they will always receive a gift or gift certificate towards their own private art collection. No more perfume you hate, gift cards for stores you never visit, appliances you already have two of.
QUIRKIER CONCEPTS
☞ Build your hang around a corner
☞ Include objects such as a clock, plant, antique object,mirror, shelf etc
GREAT FOR TRICKY WALLS WITH ODD SHAPES, AIRCON UNITS, LIGHTING ETC
Many clients came to our gallery over the years citing ‘tricky walls’ , ie. trying to find a way to hang art that they love around an oddly placed air conditioner , lighting fixtures, heating service fixtures, etc.
Making an unavoidable fixture like this a part of the whole visual story has given a positive spin for some adventurous and bold art collectors.
The aircon in this digital initial concept has been made a central starting point and could have a design added to its facade also, or not
In this imaginary scenario below, a grey-tone room already has an accent of turquoise. The frames are all black or charcoal, some with mats, and some without. The possibilities of what to hang here are endless
Specific to the Port Art collective….
GREAT FOR OUTDOOR NICHES AND RELAXING CORNERS
Using waterproof combinations, all UV-safe materials (Unique to us) and tried&tested unique approaches, the Port Art collective have created many special outdoor-ready paintings, even ‘floating’ look frames (made from treated, primed outdoor timbers).
There is more info about these specially created outdoor-friendly art pieces here
Display prices in:AUD
