Culture Notes: Buy Art from Your Friends!
For years I was insecure about my art knowledge. I worked for a founder who had many opinions on art (I guess it helped that she was an art major), and she hired women who were well-versed in the New York art scene. Like many things in New York, it felt unwelcoming and exclusive, and I wasn't really looking for more things to spend money on. (Ok fine, I was always looking for things to spend money on but given that I can find something I want to buy in pretty much every establishment on the planet, I thought I'd stay away from art.) At the same time, I loved interior design and decor and I desperately wanted to figure out a way to adorn my walls that didn't involve stock imagery from a basic website or thousands of dollars on a painting I didn't really understand.
When I moved to my house in Venice Beach after almost ten years in New York, I saw that one of the girls who was previously on my team at Glossier was selling her photographs. She was half-Lebanese and had recently taken a lot of gorgeous photos in Beirut, and was selling them to raise money for refugee populations. I didn't think twice before buying three of her pieces. When I hung the two pomegranate-focused photos in my office, I found myself looking at them almost daily and thinking, "it's so cool that I've got art on my walls from a woman who worked for me years ago!"
Then, about a year into living in LA, I met a truly one-of-a-kind woman from Andorra who was a full-time painter. We developed a fast and close friendship and I was enthralled by her artistic process and blown away by her talent. She often paints powerful women in nature or with other powerful animals, and her work is striking. When she had to paint over 25 paintings for a gallery show in San Francisco, I immediately bought the one I had been obsessed with since I saw it in her apartment. To my great surprise, she also gave me a painting that she insisted was flawed but to this day I cannot find a single thing wrong with it. And then on my birthday, she gifted me another painting that I fawned over while she was painting it. I proudly and immediately hung up the paintings and they've traveled with me from Santa Monica to three different houses in Portugal; whenever I have new friends over to our house someone always comments on how cool her work is. Seeing her paintings on my walls with me literally makes my heart swell with pride and memories from some of the happiest years of my adult life.
Since moving to Portugal, I've hosted three creative writing retreats in Morocco and have developed a soft spot for the country. As you likely know, they experienced a horrific earthquake and to raise money for rebuilding homes and important places across the country, some of the artists I met during my retreats were selling photographs of beautiful landscapes around Morocco. You can bet I snagged a few of those.
And, finally, there are my artistic friends in Lisbon. I pretty quickly met a wonderfully talented photographer from London and fell in love with how striking and emotionally moving his work is. I asked to see all of the photos he was selling, picked out two, and even got to go to a custom framing store with him to pick out the exact right frames for his pieces. There's also a Brazilian artist who I met on my first day in Lisbon who turned out to be a less than stellar human, but I bought my favorite work of his--it's completely different from anything else I have--and even though I don't much care for him anymore, it's a really sweet reminder of my very first few weeks in Lisbon.
Now, whether I'm in my living room, office, bedroom, or dining room, I'm surrounded by my friends. I'm awestruck over how lucky I am to know such talented people, I'm reminded of the strong relationships I've developed with all sorts of people around the world, and I have beautiful art that makes my house a home. Especially now, in a time with a lot of economic uncertainty, art feels like a luxury that few can afford. But if you have any creative friends, even if they're just hobbyists, I encourage you to invest in their work. You'll be supporting them through a challenging time, you'll light up when you see their art on your walls, and your home will look more lively and unique.
Feel free to comment and share the portfolios of your favorite artist friends below!