The Art of Hanging Art #3

Courtesy of Nielsen Bainbridge, from http://michaels.com/The-Art-Of-Hanging-Art/as0108,default,pg.html?sms_ss=twitter&at_xt=4dbd6f5a13e06ecb,0

	Hang art at eye level where it can be easily seen and enjoyed. That can be at standing or sitting eye level, the choice is yours. Hold the art against the wall where you want to hang it. Start with its center five feet high from the floor, then adjust it to your preference. For a reference point, make a small pencil mark on the wall at the top center of the frame. Never just hammer a nail into the wall! Choose the appropriate hanging device based on the composition of your walls and the weight of your art. Always hang art on two hooks and two wall hangers for even and level support. Heavier pieces should be hung with D rings. Place the hooks, lay your frame face down and pull the hanging wire toward the top of the frame in two spots the same distance from the top. These spots are where the hangers will be placed. (The further apart they are, the closer the art will be to the wall.) Measure the distance between these two spots, as well as the distance between one of them and the top of the frame. Transfer these dimensions to the wall starting with your center mark. Install the wall hangers at the two hanging spots. Begin hanging with the central piece, using it as a reference point for all the others. Happy Hanging!  Thanks for viewing this three-part series on "The Art of Hanging Art" - not always as easy as it looks.  Art Rent and Lease provides artwork throughout the US: original paintings and sculpture for offices, movie sets, photo shoots, facility lobbies, corporate conference rooms - virtually anywhere you want to bring the beauty of artwork into your space.  Call us for a free consultation: (888) 440-9260 - we have offices and consultants throughout the US!

Breathtaking Sculptures Depict Infinite Forests

By artist Anthony James

Utilizing two-way mirrors, chopped birch trees and fluorescent or LEDS to create sculptures that look like infinite forests trapped in a light box.  Beautiful and unique!

For the complete article from fastcodesign, please visit:  http://www.fastcodesign.com/1663412/breathtaking-sculptures-depict-infinite-forests?partner=co_newsletter

Companes Who Care Outperform All Others

At Art Rent and Lease, we agree that companies that care not only outperform, but have happier employees and customers - we encourage the use of art that reinforces a companies goals, values and mission statement.  See this great article by Fast Company Expert Blogger Norman Wolfe

In his book Firms of Endearment, Raj Sisodia proves that success of any enterprise is built on a foundation that goes deeper than what we do and how we do it. In the FoE (Firms of Endearment) companies, terms like purpose, meaning, appreciation, joy, and yes, even love are not only acceptable, they are critical in the corporate language and culture. And they are not reserved for internal use only; they are attributes that are applied to all stakeholders--employees, customers, suppliers, investors and society.


This is not a call to embrace a new paradigm based simply on a touchy-feely justification that corporations should simply do the "right thing." This is about an in depth study of firms that have out produced their peers and the market as a whole. The publicly traded FoE companies studied returned 750% over 10 years while the S&P overall provided a 128% return. What is even more telling is that over the last 5 years, these same companies provided their investors 205% return, when the S&P lost 13%. And many of these companies are well known--Southwest Airlines, IKEA, Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, The Container Store to name a few.

What gives? Why does having attributes such as caring, appreciation and love as part of the corporate culture make such a difference?

It's simple, actually. As described in The Living Organization® model, the act of producing goods and services is an act of transforming energy. The more energy you have available and the more you focus that energy, the greater the results. The attributes that are core to the corporate culture of FoE companies set a context that allows for a greater flow of energy through the system. This energy is aligned and focused by their deep sense of meaning and purpose that permeates through their whole stakeholder community.

It's not so hard to understand how this happens. Think of the various relationships you have had in your life, whether in business or personal. Think of those relationships where you felt appreciated, truly appreciated. Now compare those to relationships where you were simply having an interaction, a transaction if you will. Which one gives you more energy? Which one would your prefer having more interactions with? Now turn it around. Don't you also experience more energy when you are being appreciative of what you are doing and whom you are interacting with than if you were feeling dread about it.

Now magnify that energy to the size of a corporation who, as a collective, truly appreciates their customers, each other, and all stakeholders. How much more energy do they have available to them? How much more would customers choose these Firms of Endearment, over other choices?

When you truly think of a corporation in the same terms as other human interactions it is not so difficult to understand why FoE companies would always outperform all other traditional companies. Perhaps you should think of your organization more as a living organization rather than the traditional efficient machine of production.

We can help your "Living Organization" with beautiful, inexpensive paintings, photographs and sculpture to enhance your space.  Call us for a free consultation: 888-440-9260 x710 or text Lisa at 3609218247 for more information!

Amazing Grass Sculptures

Exhibiting at the Invisible Dog Gallery in Brooklyn, these beautiful sculptures made of soil and wheat seeds with a structure of recycled metal are  the creative work of mixed media artist Mathilde Roussel-Giraudy

“The natural world, ingested as food becomes a component of human being,” Roussel-Giraudy says. “Through these anthropomorphic and organic sculptures made of soil and wheat grass seeds, I strive to show that food, it’s origin, it’s transport, has an impact on us beyond it’s taste. The power inside it affects every organ of our body. Observing nature and being aware of what and how we eat makes us more sensitive to food cycles in the world – of abundance, of famine – and allows us to be physically, intellectually and spiritually connected to a global reality.”

For more information visit:

 blog.gessato.com/2010/09/21/grass-sculptures

The Impact of Color When Selecting Artwork for Your Office: Brown

If you are selecting art for a work space where the important quality for people to feel is "comfortable within their environment", consider using shades of brown. Any office where there is an emphasis on earth, the environment or things that are natural will want to strongly consider brown in their work environment. Brown also suggests a sense of order.

According to http://www.sensationalcolor.com, "Brown says stability, reliability, and approachability. It is the color of our earth and is associated with all things natural or organic."

There are many emotions and personalities that go into the decision of what art is best for an office. No matter how small or large your budget, consider utilizing the expertise of an art consultant, who will help you to select the artwork that meets the culture of your office environment.

Art Rent and Lease provides tax-deductible short-term rentals and long-term leases to corporate, healthcare and hospitality clients in the US, specializing on placement with facility and building managers looking for artwork in their lobby, conference rooms and public spaces.

For information about renting or leasing art and a free consultation please visit our website at: http://www.artrentandlease.com/ or call us at (888) 440-9260 x710.

New Products and Techniques Eliminate or Greatly Reduce the Toxic Content of Art for Your Office

Is the art that is hanging in your workplace in alignment with corporate mission statement? Are you projecting an image to your employees and customers that you are a green environment? Is the artwork displayed in your office aligned with that statement?

New techniques and materials are available to artists to keep them safe and the earth that is often the subject of their work, clean as well. More frequently, graphic and print artists have moved over to the use of non-toxic electrolytic and electrochemical methods that do not require acids and safe etching and proofing techniques the substitute most harmful solvents and chemicals for etching, relief prints, monotypes and collages.

And even where non-toxic chemicals and solvents are necessary, training is available to artists in techniques which dramatically decrease the usage and danger of these materials.

Do you know if the artwork displayed in your workplace is "green"? An informed art consultant can work with you to find the artwork that meets the needs of your workplace tailored to your budget, taste and mission statement.

Our consultants are located in major cities in the US.  We provide short-term art rentals, longer term art leases, art for sale including paintings and sculpture....anything you need to beautify your space!  Visit our website at http://www.artrentandlease.com/ or call us at (888) 440-9260 x710 for a free consultation.

Offering New Sculpture - All Reclaimed Materials

Artist Barry Ferich of Ferric Creations has joined Art Rent and Lease in promoting his work to art collectors, art consultants, corporate, healthcare and hospitality clients for rent or sale.

Ferich's work is truly stunning, all made from reclaimed, rescued or recycled objects including aluminum and high voltage wires.  Pieces are available as shown as well as commissionable in other sizes and finishes as needed.

The Art Consulting, Rental, Sales and Leasing Gallery works with emerging and established artists in the US, promiting sustainable products and processes.  Visit us:  http://www.artrentandlease.com/ for more information on art rentals, art leasing and direct sales.

Gallery Opening 9/9/09 Featuring Art for Sale, Rent and Lease!

Art Rent and Lease is excited to announce the opening of the Artful Decor, Art Rental, Sales and Leasing Gallery at International Market Square in Minneapolis on 9/9/09 in Suite C-1!  

The gallery will feature a large selection of paintings, sculpture and glass for sale, rent and lease, starting at just $20 per month, an excellent way to conserve up-front cash and take advantage of  tax-deductible monthly payments in these challenging economic times.

Shown above are paintings on canvas and paper by handmade paper artist Meg Black: gardens, landscapes and seascapes.

International Market Square features showrooms and products for design professionals, and is the largest one-stop shopping destination for decorating accessories in the upper Midwest.  Join us Monday - Friday, 9am to 5pm and Saturday's by appointment!  For information please call (888) 440-9260 x710 or email: lisa@artrentandlease.com

Artists Work Installed at new Club Quarters, Chicago

Chicago artist R.R. Lyon's stunning custom plexi wall sculpture was installed at the new Club Quarters on Wacker in Chicago last month.

The client and his designer chose the piece while at the Art Rent and Lease Gallery at NeoCon, embracing the texture and bold design.  Made of recycled plexiglas using natural pigments and dyes, this sustainable piece was a site-specific selection.

For more information on the Art Rental, Leasing and Sales Gallery visit http://www.artrentandlease.com/.

‘Artists as Alchemists’ by Jennifer Landes

As published in The Easthampton Star on 7/14/09, opinion:

I was not predisposed to embrace “Textures: Artists as Alchemists” at the Surface Library Gallery in Springs. Something about the art being from a “cyber gallery” with an “eco-friendly green” bent and unusually textured seemed a bit clichéd and overcomplicated. And how much more can we really say about “repurposed materials” and the transformative nature of the cyber-marketplace?

Yet the art, stripped of its high-concept packaging, manages to speak for itself. Lynn Dunham, an artist herself, serves as guest curator using artists from her “Art Rent & Lease” program.

From the amoeba-like plaster of Paris shapes created by Vincent Romaniello with a lichen-like surface and dull muddy colors to David M. Mitchell’s chromogenic print photographs, the works offer a strong viewpoint and aesthetically pleasing qualities.

Mr. Mitchell’s photographs are clearly the stars of the show, although it is almost too easy to like their showy, filmy beauty. What makes them more intriguing is the puzzle of abstraction they present. If they are straightforward film photographs, what was the original subject and how far removed are we? It often seems as if he has managed to capture pure atmosphere in his “Linear” series.

Yet in another example, “Window 3 From the Luminary Collection,” the subject seems to be another painting or a drop cloth and paint-stained canvas strips. The thick acrylic facing (portions of which are apparently recycled), clear as it is, provides another distancing device, and the viewer can never be certain just what is being viewed. Once peace is made with that conundrum, however, the pure beauty becomes its own reward.

Ron Lyon’s “Equilibre Noir,” which uses oil paint on plexiglass, has a controlled balance and a harmonic use of color that are equally pleasing. The strips, which appear to be the length, width, and depth of decking planks, are painted on their widest side and projected from the wall from the narrowest side. No two are alike and some can be rigorously geometric in a Mondrian fashion, while other strips appear more like chaotic expressionism. Still, they make up a cohesive whole, with the use of opposite and complementary colors in balance with the structure of black and the cloudy gray of the material.

The sculptural nature of the piece produces its own paradoxes for those who might still subscribe to a formalist view of the world, but it is the melding of the best elements of the painterly with sculpture’s three-dimensionality that makes the piece so effective.

Having her own fun with previously established art historical convention, Tanya Bell produces imperfectly geometric strips of color and white within precise square canvases. Her taste in color runs to the uglier tones and hues of green, blue, and orange, like something not quite right or well. Using silver as a highlight and a bridge between color and white expanses seems to make the colors even uglier, but never so much that the paintings are not compelling to look at.

Lori Glavin’s cut strips of polystyrene held together with hot glue in a sky-blue field interspersed with white is the kind of piece that is equal parts clever and transcendently beautiful. The humble material takes on an ethereal and Asian-inspired appearance and is a great example of the aesthetic ingenuity of the artist.

The sculptures of Gregory Coates make similarly transformative use of notched wood and layer upon layer of plastic wrap. The texture here is less important than its surface, which is glassy, cloudy, and mysterious.

There are also works by Gabriel Shuldiner, Matuschka, Thomas Kurilla, Robert Brasher, Roger Thomas Justice, and Ms. Dunham herself. The exhibit is on view through July 26.