You’ve probably heard about a simple and unwritten rule – when choosing art for your home or office, always stick to the same movement or style. Thus, it’s a major sin mixing Renaissance art and something a bit more abstract like cubism, for example.
But is this really the case?
Can you highlight both the classics and modern art in the same space?
The short answer is yes.
Let’s elaborate on the idea and check the ways in which different forms of art can coexist and create visual harmony.
To give you a better idea about displaying art, we need to go through a short lesson first.
There is one major difference between art classics and modern art. Classical artists relied on the depiction of direct aesthetic elements. These instantly appeal to the viewer. Beauty is central and objects are chosen to provoke an immediate emotional response (usually positive).
Think of Botticelli’s The Birth of Venus. The colour scheme, the curves, lines and the subject matter itself are easy to grasp and quite enjoyable. And that’s just one example.
Modern art is a lot more abstract and “difficult” to digest. Contemporary art usually doesn’t try to be realistic or aesthetically-pleasing. Rather, it focuses on an emotion or a theme that can be expressed through the use of colour, lines and various other artistic techniques.
Because of this characteristic, modern art is usually open to interpretation and it is seen as a lot more indirect. Splatters of colour, distorted shapes and bizarre tones in combinations with each other are all quite typical.
Keeping these essentials in mind, you may consider classical and contemporary art impossible to bring together in the same space without a stylistic clash. This isn’t the case. Obviously, displaying art pieces that are so different will necessitate skill and a strategic vision. You can, however, bring the two worlds together without creating a disastrous interior design hodgepodge.
Here’s something very important you need to understand about featuring art in a room – the rest of the interior design needs to remain modest and unobtrusive. Allow art pieces to become central, the star of the show. If they’re competing with ornate furniture or luscious fabrics, paintings and other forms of art will lose a lot of their impressiveness.
Classical art can work really well in modern settings. In fact, you can feature a painting across from a poster in order to create points of contrast in the room. Obviously, a poster here is used as an example of contemporary art. It can be replaced by something else you enjoy – a photograph, a sketch, a sculpture or any other modern art piece.
Always consider the elements that surround artwork. If most of the room remains neutral, you can easily feature two different pieces of art and create an eclectic interior. You need a sufficiently large, clean wall to hang a beautiful painting on. Remember one simple rule – less is more when it comes to decorative items. If you choose a few paintings carefully and thoughtfully, you’ll achieve a much better result than what you’d accomplish by having dozens of mediocre art pieces scattered throughout the space.
Many interior designers bring traditional art into modern spaces by achieving colour palette synchronicity.
What exactly does that mean?
Usually, you’ll start your home renovation with the selection of a colour palette for each room.
Knowing the colours that will dominate the interior simplifies the task of bringing art into the equation.
Choosing both classical and modern art pieces that belong to the particular scheme will make the pieces blend seamlessly into the interior. The fact that the works of art are so different from each other will remain much less obvious than it would have been otherwise.
Alternatively, you can create striking contrast by choosing tones that are way out there. Again – to make this approach work well, you have to keep the rest of the home design fairly subdued. This way, your pieces of art will pop and tell an entire story.
Modern art is nothing but a natural continuation of classic styles that have evolved.
Cubism, for example, the art style that Picasso is so well known for, is a continuation of Paul Cezanne’s impressionism.
Choosing pieces of art that form a natural progression will make classics and abstract pieces work well together.
You don’t need a degree in art history to make such combinations happen.
As a viewer, you will sense the types of paintings and other art pieces that seem to be “related.” You don’t have to search for stylistic connections intentionally. Most of the time, these are pretty obvious.
If you feel that pieces of art have something in common, chances are that they’ll work well together. It’s really up to you to discover the ones that make you feel good and that you’ll enjoy spending time observing over the years.
And if you’re still feeling somewhat confused about art selection as part of your home interior design, get the experts to help you. Contact Home Guide now if you’re planning a home renovation in the near future. As experienced Singaporean interior design professionals, we know everything about the power of art and the best ways to make use of such pieces outstanding décor elements.
