Andrew Kay: Art of the matter

Wall to wall certainly describes the way I live. Nothing done by halves, a truly immersed and 24/7 way of life – which takes its toll. Today I feel pretty grim, hot sweats, hot flushes even. It must be the manopause!

Seriously though, I’m not on top form right now and it’s hardly surprising given my current schedule of activities. As dad would have said, and forgive the vernacular, “You’re like a fart in a colander, not knowing which hole to pop out of.” It’s not often you can use the words fart and colander in the same sentence, but dad did have an amazing way with the English language.

My 24/7 wall to wall life reaches all quarters and as the festival opens so too does the annual Artists’ Open Houses season. I love it but sadly my wall to wall existence extends to the physical wall to wall space available. Despite the recent loss of one or two pictures from my life, I still have more art than any sensible person living in a normally sized home could possibly need.

And as I write this a nice new book has hit my desk – Brighton Artists 2014 is a rather fine volume that catalogues many of the city’s creative talents. Produced by Alison and Torben Krog, it is beautifully designed and printed and is filled with a wide range of images that are rather pleasing. Well okay, I’ll be honest and say that not everything is to my taste, but there are certainly works in there that really do appeal to me. As Mr N Mosley says on the cover, “Every time I open this I find a new piece of artwork I fall in love with.” Well, of course, that is some kind of creative promiscuity Mr M, and one that you need to keep in check – otherwise you will end up with walls like mine, a modern extension of the National Gallery’s reserve collection where the artworks are crammed hugger-mugger in the basement rooms.

If, however, you are in search of something of quality to adorn your living space then both the AOH exhibitions and this rather nice book could prove to be a very good starting point.

I have said this before but it is always worth repeating – art bought from quality galleries and exhibitions will retain value in at least one of two ways. It will always retain the value of the love that you felt for it that was enough for you to part with your hard earned readies. In addition, it will seldom be worth any less than you parted with in terms of resale, and it could have the added joy of increasing in value if you back a future star.

“It’s not often you can use the words fart and colander in the same sentence, but dad did have an amazing way with the English language”

For me that is the least important factor, love of the art is worth far more than seeing it as a financial investment. The alternative way of decorating a wall has little value; cheap prints and flimsy frames from interiors stores will never increase in value and are produced in such vast numbers that any joy you might have felt when you made the purchase will dwindle as you see it on the walls of friends and neighbours and on the sets of soap operas.
If you must buy art, buy the real thing and there are few better ways to start than by going to an open house or picking up Brighton Artists 2014.

Brighton Artists 2014, £12 from selected galleries and shops across the city
The May 2014 Artists’ Open Houses festival starts on Saturday 3 May and runs every weekend throughout May www.aoh.org.uk

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