NEW YORK — Just because artworks are selling for tens of millions of dollars at auction doesn’t mean you need that much money to buy original art.
Art experts say that collectors of modest means needn’t settle for a life of posters and reproductions. It’s possible to find good, original contemporary art in galleries, online and at art fairs if collectors are willing to train their eye and look at a lot of art.
Such collectors are the target audience of the Affordable Art Fair, a four-day contemporary art show of up-and-coming and established artists that opens this week in New York City for its seventh year.
The fair is held in six cities around the world: Amsterdam, Netherlands; Bristol, England; and Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, Australia.
Thousands of artworks ranging from paintings, photographs and sculptures to prints and mixed media will be available for prices starting at $100 and not exceeding $10,000. The average piece costs about $3,000.
But art lovers need not jet to the New York fair to find affordable art; any good-sized city is sure to have a broad selection of galleries and artists.
Experts offer some tips for the novice buyer:
• Prowl the galleries, where you can find established names as well as tomorrow’s rising stars.
• Look at a lot of art, even pieces beyond your price range.
Baird Ryan, managing director of Art Capital Group, a company that helps people finance their art purchases, suggests treating art like real estate. “You inform yourself on the broader art market and stylistic trends, and you train your eye to what excites you,” he said.
Most of all, Ryan emphasized, buy what you like and not because you think it will appreciate in value.
• Study books and magazines and create a picture library to figure out what you like, whether it’s color, subject matter, still life, people.
That advice comes from Chelsea gallery owner Kathryn Markel, an exhibitor at the fair.
“I always say any idiot with a million dollars can buy good art,” she said. “But it’s hard to be able to find really good things that are reasonable, beautiful and serious at the same time.”
