VERANDA MAGAZINE 2021
An entry designed by Erica Burns. Photo by Stacy Zarin Goldberg.
While the initial months of the coronavirus pandemic were terrifying for artists across all mediums as galleries, museums, theaters, and other creative spaces were among the first to close across the world, people began investing in their homes with money that would have been used for vacations, new wardrobes, and other experiences like concerts and exhibitions. And when much of 2021 didn’t look hopeful for our chances of jet-setting with ease and piling up our social calendars again, that investment in our homes grew deeper. Houston-based designer Mark Cravotta says that in the high-end market, there’s more money available right now and with art being a finite resource, purchasing art feels special relative to other elements of our interiors that consumers have been shopping for over the last year and a half that are less unique and telling of our personalities.
Boston-based designer Katie Rosenfeld says that social media and more overall time spent with screens since March 2020 were paramount to the recent art boom, especially for millennials, as emerging digital platforms have made art much more accessible for all ages. But the screen fatigue is real, and both the extra time scrolling on Instagram as well as the desire to escape it for real life experiences and beauty have paved a way for more people to invest in art for their homes.
“I think the events of the past couple years resulted in a lot of people spending time online and on social media, and frankly, they’re ready to see something different,” says Sean Anderson, a Memphis-based designer. “That has opened the field to such an abundance of new talent, and I only hope more people find creative platforms to share their talents on.”
“[Art] acts as the finishing touch and adds that element of personality you don’t get through fabrics or furniture,” says Erica Burns, a designer based in Bethesda, Maryland. “It sets the tone for the space, whether that’s bold or quiet, serious or whimsical, and we love to play with art to create interesting juxtapositions in design.”
We asked several creatives from the Artist Collective group, which has locations in Atlanta, Charleston, Nashville, and Washington, D.C. about their roles in working with designers and clients seeking a home or room refresh. Michele James of Atlanta and Shannon Wood of Charleston both shared that commissions are on the rise and that people are taking more time to find pieces that really speak to them. Wood also notes that she's noticing designers requesting more pieces for their clients' second homes. Lanie Mann of Washington, D.C. says art budgets seem to be expanding as people no longer can tolerate living with blank walls and it has been exciting for artists to have opportunities to create more unique pieces.
