The Tiny Paintings Trend?
According to a recent article in Elle Decor, tiny paintings are now trending in the interior design space. The article's author, Rachel Silva, takes stock of what is driving this trend and it comes down to three things: (1) some key artists have started to paint at a diminutive scale; (2) a correlation of economic downturns with artists scaling their artworks accordingly to save on material and shipping costs, a twist on the "High Heel Index"; (3) a general desire for people to stop and smell the roses, to "lean in" to appreciate the fine brush strokes and details of a painting in miniature.
Lucky for you, we have you covered at Gallery Brocante. While perhaps not as small as Turkish artist Hasan Kale's "microangelo" works, Anne de Saeger's pair of monochrome studies, one in watercolour and one in conte, certainly meet the criteria of "tiny art". Measuring around 20 cm x 15 cm each, they depict (in remarkable detail and scale) scenes of Paris, including the UNESCO World Heritage Site along the Seine River where antique booksellers ("boquinistes") have set up and sold their wares since the 1500s, and the iconic Haussmann style apartments that give Paris its distinctive feel. Both are matted and ready to frame and mount to your heart's content.
But going back to the article and the trend of tiny paintings, Silva makes a great point about scale. When dealing with paintings that are either really large or really small, scale becomes very important. You don't want the artworks to look awkward in your space and so some thought will need to be put into how to best display them. A few tricks you may want to consider if you are going to take advantage of this trend:
Gallery Walls
It's not uncommon for smaller artworks to be grouped together to create a collage of sorts on a large wall. There are plenty of resources online to help you plan out the perfect gallery wall if this is your vibe.
Extra Wide Mats
Consider using an extra wide mat to provide a bit of negative space around your tiny artwork. This will ensure that nothing else visually encroaches onto the artwork, allowing it to assert itself vis-a-vis other decor and design elements in your home.
Embrace Tiny Spaces
Do you have a strip of wall between windows, or perhaps a narrow hallway with a wall at the end? These are great spots to place tiny artworks that keep scale in perspective. What else would you do with that space anyway?
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