 (ARA)
- Whether you're shopping for yourself or a loved one, how do you know what to look for
when buying a work of art? Consumers stepping into
an art gallery for the first time often feel a mixture of delight and intimidation at the
wonderfully strange sculptures and paintings before them. This is especially true for
buyers who feel they lack the basic knowledge to recognize the difference between, say, an
impressionistic painting and a surrealistic one.
Then there's the pressure to find the right work of art
that will breathe new life into the recipient's home. After all, the work you decide upon
becomes an integral part of a home's interior design, leaving guests with a lasting
impression of the owner's taste, personality and aesthetic sensibility. So you want to
make sure you select just the right work of art. But how?
According to Steve Danko, Director of The Jean Stephen
Galleries in Minneapolis, the decision making process varies greatly depending on the
buyer. "Some buyers simply fall in love with a work of art the first time they see it
- they feel an inexplicable bond with it. Others come back several times, always with new
questions about the work."
To help ensure that you'll be happy with your purchase,
Danko advises that patrons spend more time learning about the artist, and the medium in
which they specialize. "Gaining an awareness of the artist's background allows the
potential buyer to appreciate an artist's work at a completely different level. It's easy
to visit a gallery and pick up a bio sheet on an artist whose work you find
appealing."
To illustrate his point, Danko cites the increased interest
in one of the sculptors currently on display at his gallery. Louis von Koelnau, or 'Red'
as he is better known, has been sculpting animals and non-objective pieces for over 45
years. Why sculpture? "I can't draw," Red says with a laugh.
Geraldine Diedrich, Red's manager, feels that Red's appeal
lies in understanding the intricacy of his art. "Once people discover the technical
expertise that goes into Red's sculptures - and the fact that few, if any, sculptors can
duplicate it - their appreciation for his work increases dramatically."
Red specializes in sculpting bears made solely in resin, a
modern compound not unlike amber, the fossilized resin of pine trees. Working as a boat
builder and taxidermist for twenty years, the artist acquired extensive knowledge about
the use and control of the polyresin medium.
Anyone who has seen Red's bears is amazed by the way he
uses light to animate them, almost giving each a separate personality. In fact, Red
maintains that he is actually sculpting human beings: families, adults, children, in the
guise of bears.
Whatever type of bear Red sculpts, his goal is to make it
look simple. "The artist should strive to make difficult things look easy, not easy
things look difficult," says Red. "If copious explanation is needed, you should
be a writer."
Art enthusiasts in the Minneapolis area are fortunate to
have a sculptor of Red's talent in their midst. If they're lucky enough to run into him,
they might even get a chance to pick his brain and learn what inspires him to craft these
playful bears. Red's likely reply? "The object of the sculpture should be to occupy
space in an interesting way."
If you're planning on entertaining in the near future and
want to showcase a work of art that "occupies space in an interesting way," you
might want to consider one of Red's bears. Diedrich claims that having a bear present when
she entertains guarantees that "there will always be at least one interesting
guest."
The Jean Stephen Galleries showcase hand crafted, original
works of art. You can visit the gallery at 917 Nicollet Mall, Minneapolis, MN.
Courtesy of Article Resource Association, www.aracopy.com,
e-mail: info@aracopy.com
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