Framing

This week I have had to make choices regarding framing my artwork for the open studio show. I’ve always thought the standard was a white mat and a black frame and while I still believe this is the standard I don’t necessarily think it is the best or the only choice for some presentations.  So, this weekend I went to several galleries and while I was there I paid more attention to the presentation of the work to see what other choices I might want to consider.  I went to Ben Rollins show at Twin Kittens and was quite impressed with both his work and presentation.  Rather than using the traditional black frame, Ben opted for a white frame, which went well with his work, creating an overall sensation of being surrounded by white.  The adjacent gallery also presented nicely framed consistent pieces, although there seemed to be a wide variety of content among the work.  In stark contrast to these galleries, the work at the Granite Room in the Castleberry Hill district was rather inconsistently presented.  Their show, Exploring the Shadows, presented the work of five photographers all working in the same surrealist vein.  One artist, seemed more interested in selling his book than in displaying his work and had his work on what appeared to be foam core without any frame, giving the appearance of a poster rather than a piece of fine art.  Another photographer chose to hang their work unframed as well but in a strange hanging arrangement, which I think was due in part to the fact that the wall is rock. There was also calendars and other smaller prints for sale on tables throughout the space.   As a whole, the show seemed more like tables at an art fair than an exhibit at a fine art gallery.  Another gallery I went to this weekend was the Seen gallery, which had a nice presentation of professional quality work and framing. The only problem with this gallery was the presence of ceramic works and other artworks that had nothing to do with the exhibition and only served to clutter the space.  While I was there I was most impressed with the work of Thomas Hager, who not only produces amazingly large alternative process prints but also makes his own frames, which are well-made metal frames. His work can be found here. http://www.thomashager.com/index.php#mi=2&pt=1&pi=10000&s=0&p=5&a=0&at=0

This is a direct link to my personal favorite of his series: Catharsis.