Absolutely frame it for your personal taste. You are the one that has to enjoy it and if it isn't done to your taste you will not get 100% satisfaction from the piece of art.leary411 wrote:Quick question...what are people's thoughts on reframing art purchased directly thru a gallery? Meaning the art you purchased comes framed. Should you leave it be because that is how the artist intended it to be displayed or is it okay to upgrade to something a little more with your taste? At the end of the day I'm gonna be the one looking at it and enjoying it right just don't really want to mess with any investment aspect of it.
Many artist, and in some instances most artist, are starving artist and are framing for price, and will not frame to meet conservation standards or for the ascetics. Don't get me wrong, there are a few artist that frame for the art and do everything right but even if they do it may still not be your personal taste and you will not appreciate the art fully until you give it your personal touch. Also, some artist frame art because of the requirements of a show - black frame and white mat is what most juried shows around here require. Again this is usually low end framing that is in many instances only meant to be temporary.
Galleries are a different story. Some Galleries have a certain appeal that they strive for so they may have a standard and that standard doesn't appeal to your taste. Some Galleries may have a main artist that they showcase and do not want a secondary artist to out show that main artist. In that situations their appearance policy may not be ascetically pleasing to you and/or may not capture the art the way framing is meant to. If the Gallery did the framing they are framing for price and may not be framing by conservation standards or your standards.
I would strongly suggest that if you purchase a piece of art from a Gallery or from an artist and even if the framing is or is not ascetically pleasing to you, still bring the framed art to a reputable custom framer, again I will emphasize reputable, to be sure the framing has been done correctly. It may be just fine but it is much better to be safe than sorry.
Just my $0.02 Joe