Conversations: Part 3 - High-Quality Art
Dana Cohen:
Luke, you know a thing or two about the technicalities of high-quality art and what to look for. I am curious as to what else you find important about accessing an artist and their work. In your opinion, what else should people consider?
Luke Proctor:
There are so many ways to assess quality. Firstly, the condition. Find out if the work is in good condition, and if not, if it’s stated. Next is credentials. Has the artist had numerous exhibitions or are they more of an emerging talent? Remember museums are a high form of praise but not all museums carry the same cache.
How long has the artist been creating? Just because they are young doesn't mean they may not be brilliant. Just remember that most of the greats went through many stylistic changes and have a large body of work. Are they part of a significant art movement or even better, are they one of the pioneers of a movement? Have they developed a high degree of technical ability? It’s really important to me that an artist can draw or paint or do what they do at a high level. I’m so old-fashioned, I care more about that than how many followers they have.
Finally, acquire info and do research, that's a given. Let your gut guide you. You will quickly feel when a work has to be collected. You may not be a master sommelier but you know when a bottle tastes really special it may be hard to define why, it’s the same with buying/collecting art.
Dana Cohen:
Those are important points. People should experience some form of emotional reaction. I like to ask questions. Does it appear unfinished, overworked, or just right? What makes it unlike anything else that you've seen before? How does the artwork resonate with you? That's just it, it’s always subjective.
For anybody that wants to get a “second opinion” and is unsure about an acquisition, there are a lot of questions they should really be asking themselves. We published an article called “The Five Art Collecting Tips” and number three talks about this topic in-depth. When you're making a decision about acquiring or not acquiring a particular work of art, have an honest conversation with yourself and determine what the meaning of high-quality art is to you.
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