Art. (You knew that was coming, didn’t you?)
I touched on this subject in an earlier post about enlivening dreary hallways. In that case, though, there was wainscoting to deal with and very little light…in other words, we had bigger fish to fry before we could think about art.
But speaking of big fish, that recent trip to Santa Fe yielded two excellent-use-of-art-at-end of-hallway situations. Here’s the first one:
How fantastic is this piece? It’s by Kate Javens, an artist represented by Marcia Wood Gallery in Atlanta. The large scale is perfect for this space (obviously), but the piece is remarkable up close, also: the brushstrokes are intricate and there’s a translucent quality to the paint that’s beautiful to look at.
In another house, this ancient Chinese piece is visible from the kitchen:
And as you approach it, the mottled surface of the piece becomes more evident – a reminder of how old this is. (How old? Not exactly sure. Wicked old.) The skylight provides an ambient glow during the day, and spot lighting from the side helps when it gets darker outside.
So for the end of a hallway, look for art that has a strong graphic quality from afar AND details that make the piece interesting from, ah, a-near.