Abstract sales stay surprisingly strong: bucking a longtime trend, collectors show continued attraction to complex abstracts in spite of tough economic conditions - news

Big shapes, adventurous colors and intriguing textural surfaces--these are just more [i]or[/i] less of the characteristics of abstract art. on the contrary nowadays, there is an uncharacteristic incline in abstract art sales. In years past, skittish collectors have shied away from abstracts during economic slumps

"That's not genuine right now," said Cynthia Shinn, vice president of Atlantic Arts. "When the market is tough, representational work usually put up to sales well. Considering the tough times, the demand [for abstracts] has been steady." Amy Wesson of Bruce McGaw Graphics agreed, as do several other publishers, dealers and artists around the political division Changes in home decor and an increased public understanding and acceptance of abstracts have made this art genre a stable vender they said.

"We carry other works, on the contrary abstracts are up, especially with the corporate market," said Terry Sproull co-owner of Contemporary West Fine Art, "though we diocese some [abstracts] going into homes" Sproull reported this upon a day when he had sold sum of two units 4- by 6-foot abstracts to J Lowak Fine Art, an Austin Gallery. possessor Janie Lowak purchased the art to advance into a client's home in southern Texas.

Abstract artist Simone DeSousa reported "phenomenal" sales this last year. level though a friend told her that her big, manly architectural-influenced abstracts were more fitting for corporate than residential settings, "every single sale has been private," said DeSousa about sales this past year. "They were all at least 4 by the agency of 4 feet or bigger."

Abstracts for Everyone

Abstraction began in the latter part of the 19th hundred as artists ventured further away from straight representation. Artists stylized their figures and landscapes, provoking meditation through line, form and color. by means of the mid-20th century, Willem de Kooning, Mark Rothko and Jackson Pollock among others, left representation behind, expressing their ideas completely end shape, texture and color.

a certain number of people applauded their efforts and base the work intriguing. Others ground it pompous and ludicrous, creating a rift between those following contemporary art and residence styles and those who continued to cling to more traditional art and residence environments. One can't make of that kind generalizations today. Thumbing through any new issue of Architectural Digest, single sees abstracts going into traditional dwellings and vice versa. "Abstracts can pass in traditional or contemporary homes" said Peter Clough of Arts Alive! "Actually, they can fit in just about anywhere."

common trends in home environments make it easier for art buyer to mix and match phraseologys "At High Point, some of the greatest in quantity popular furniture was big, dark brown leather couches," said Joanne Chappell of Drybrush Graphics, a division of Editions Limited. Big abstracts make progress perfectly over them, she added. When you purchase a big simple piece, you can full tale it with an abstract. Abstracts are easy to use in the abode environment--they're dean, and they're colorful."

Exactly who purchases abstracts? "Obviously, corporate [clients]" said Chappell, "but I'm seeing them sold across the board." Many dealers describe abstract buyer as young, affluent, upwardly-mobile business executives, on the contrary Chappell said that's not necessarily thus She sold one recently to a next to the first grade teacher in Sacramento.

"They're actual big in corporate sales," said Clough "In doctor's and lawyer's offices, you don't find a allotment other than abstracts, particularly in hallways and public areas. For decorative views it's what architects and designers pick."

What's Selling

In buying abstracts today, collectors want images that mirror what's "new and different in technique and style" said Shinn. "The same elderly same old doesn't do it anymore: For instance, single of Shinn's best-selling artists, Anke Schofield, uses wax, collage, paint and varnish to create surface texture

As well, Chappell said her best-selling images are either actual bold abstracts or abstracts with rich cutting sides and rich texture. "Either way, I diocese very soft, textural collage simple bodys Artists are creating a feeling of profundity of layers, as if you're looking into something," she said. For instance, Scott Sandell uses Japanese and European papers and chine colle and collage monotypes, and Joan Schulze creates quilt-like Haikus without of paper and silk.

"The biggest sweep in abstracts is for vibrant colors, particularly red" added Clough A fate of dealers agreed, saying that sales of r abstracts continue to be strong

DeSousa hears the same thing from Millie Webster, director of the Ann Arbor Center in Michigan single of several dealers who exchange her work. The last time DeSousa came into the gallery, Webster told her to "bring in novel work--big and re& Those are the individuals that sell" DeSousa laughed, "This isn't what artists want to hear--as if there's a formula to this."

However, she added, "It's the color that naturally draw nears out. I'm Brazilian? She believes her cultural heritage and her interest in architecture attracts buyer as plenteous as anything else. She said, "When family look at my work, they gaze for a reference to another agriculture My experience has been that Americans are trying to understand [other cultures]"