Business New Haven
05/12/2008

by Liese Klein

How's this for appreciation: Something picked up for $100 ends up worth $100,000 just a short few decades later. In the meantime, the buyer gets to enjoy something unique that both beautifies and elevates his surroundings.

That's the attraction of collecting art - supporting culture, decorating a living space and possibly banking a major asset that can increase in value exponentially - if you've got a good eye.

New Haven , with its universities, galleries and thriving local art scene, is the perfect place to begin collecting. The Elm City has some New York-class artists without the New York prices and predatory middlemen, experts say.

And the presence of a world-class training ground like Yale's School of Art means you could hit the jackpot.

For example, John Currin's paintings could have gone for as little as $5 when he was Yale student in the 1980s at one of the school's "Cheap Art" sales. Now Currin is considered a modern master, and two of his paintings are scheduled to be auctioned at Sotheby's on May 15 - expected to bring up to $250,000 each.

But art should be much more than an investment, experts agree.

"You should love what you buy first," says Gabriel DaSilva, owner of the Frame Shop & Westville Gallery. DaSilva helps many local collectors acquire and preserve artworks at his store on Whalley Avenue . New Haven 's galleries are a great place to start, he says, offering everything from contemporary fine art to crafts to photography.

"Each little venue has its own look," DaSilva says. "There's a taste for everything."

New Haven also has some unique offerings, such as the Surrealist lithographs offered by White Space Gallery on Chapel Street . Collectors from around the world buy the gallery's exclusive images of 12 works by Salvador Dali, printed on paper signed by the artist, says Denise Parri, a consultant and artist who shows at the gallery.
"Most people are intrigued by Dali," Parri says. The lithographs, with their vivid colors and dreamlike themes, are unique and authenticated, Parri says. Prices for Dali lithographs range from about $1,000 up to $6,000 or more. Works by fellow Surrealist Joan Miro and local artists like Parri also hang on the gallery's sunlit walls.

"People who walk in the gallery for the first time may be very intimidated," Parri says. But one of the advantages of collecting in New Haven is that most gallery owners are happy to work with first-time buyers and answer questions, she says.

Would-be collectors should first take the time to figure out what they like in art, Parri says. Start by visiting fine art galleries like White Space or the Westville Gallery, or drop by collective venues like Artspace in Ninth Square , which shows a variety of local art, from installations to paintings to crafts.

Exposure Gallery on Whitney Avenue features the work of local photographers, starting at as little as $20 per print, and venues like the Clay Studio on Howe Street and Creative Arts Workshop on Audubon offer pottery and crafts.

Once you determine what you like, decide on a budget. Keep in mind that well-chosen art is likely to appreciate and will be passed down, Parri says. Many galleries also offer installment payment plans for high-end work, she adds.

"If you get one magnificent piece a year, after ten years you'll have something," Parri says. "Art is going to be there and last generations."

Those with bigger budgets are better off buying through galleries, which actively seek out artists with the most potential.

"If you're not represented by a gallery and you're selling off the street, you're probably not going to make the name, if someone's looking for that investment quality," Parri says. "The mark et value is not going to increase, either. You may find someone who's getting out of school, but it's very rare that that person excels if they're not up to that gallery representation."

Also keep in mind that taste in art is highly cyclical, which also drives prices and mark et value. Art that falls out of fashion can depreciate dramatically, and prices in general often trend with the economy. Educate yourself about the global art mark et before making major purchases.

DaSilva in Westville sees his clients increasingly looking for original work by living artists and contemporary Asian art, especially paintings from Vietnam .

"As people shift their traveling, going to Southeast Asia , they're discovering all this artwork there," DaSilva says. Wealthy people in Asia are also starting to buy art from the region, driving up prices.

"As their countries are getting wealthy, they really like to support their own," DaSilva says of Asian collectors.

For those interested in student work, both Yale and Southern Connecticut State University host "open studio" events that give the public a chance to see work by emerging artists. Yale School of Art holds its year-end open studio on May 18 and the work can also be seen in a preview on the school's Web site.

Exhibitions of Yale student work are also open to the public and held at 1156 Chapel Street - a recent show featured striking graphic work by undergraduate Anna Zhang that juxtaposed images of Mao, Chinese characters and photos from China 's Cultural Revolution.

Yale no longer holds sales of student work after dealers inundated the campus a few years back in the wake of a New York Times article, explains Stacey Gemmill, director of financial affairs for the art school. But collectors can approach students at open studio events and arrange to buy work on their own.

Collector Mark Aronson, chief conservator of paintings at Yale's British Art Center , estimates he's purchased between 50 and 75 pieces of student art from Yale and SCSU over several decades.

"I just got started by going to shows," Aronson says, adding that he would contact students about selling their work by putting notes in their mailboxes. "There are a lot of opportunities."

Aronson won't say if he's picked up any treasures, but adds that collectors should be aware that owning valuable art could drive up your homeowners' insurance rates.

Once you decide on something to buy, make sure to take the trouble to frame the work properly and preserve it over the decades.

At White Space, all work is protected by UV-blocking acrylic instead of glass to prevent sun damage, Parri says. Frames are carefully chosen to highlight the work of art and maximize value.

As the years pass, take care to keep up with technology and protect work from chemical reactions from mats and other framing components that can "burn" a print, Westville Gallery's DaSilva says.

"If you don't take care of it, your piece will be worthless," DaSilva says. "It's very costly to repair and sometimes you don't notice it 'til it's too late."

Above all, build an art collection around pieces that inspire you, Parri says.

"It's very therapeutic to have fine art around you," Parri says. "Go with what you love and you'll be elated when you come home."