When it comes to showcasing artwork, lighting plays a crucial role in enhancing the overall aesthetic appeal and visual impact of the pieces. Proper lighting not only illuminates the artwork but also helps create a specific ambiance and mood in the space where the artwork is displayed. By strategically lighting your artwork, you can draw attention to certain features, textures, and colours, bringing out the details and depth of each piece.
So why light up your art?
1. Enhances Visibility:
Proper lighting ensures that your artwork is clearly visible and can be appreciated by viewers.
2. Highlights Details:
Good lighting can bring out the details and textures in your artwork, enhancing its overall impact.
3. Colour Accuracy:
Proper lighting helps maintain the true colors of your artwork, ensuring that it is displayed as intended.
4. Creates Ambiance:
Lighting can set the mood and ambiance of a space, enhancing the overall aesthetic appeal of your artwork.
5. Prevents Damage:
Adequate lighting can help protect your artwork from fading or deterioration over time.
Types of art lighting
Wall Washing
The wall-washing technique allows designers to illuminate the entire wall surface with an even quantity of light. It creates a neutral context for the featured art. Because the wall is evenly lit, this method allows collectors to switch the artworks on display without changing the light.
Recessed lights, surface-mounted lights, and track lights can all act as wall washers if specified with the proper lensing/optics. In order to get an even wash of light on a wall, special attention needs to be paid to the spacing between light sources and the distance offset from the wall. The optimal parameters for a given light source can be found on a manufacturer’s specification sheet.
The wall-washing effect is most similar to ambient natural daylight. In the past, wall washers could look overly bright and cold at night. However, with Ketra’s natural light technology, one can lower light intensity and warm colour temperatures to soften the light at the end of the day.
Picture Lights
Perhaps the most traditional technique, picture lights are wall-mounted fixtures that light individual pieces of art. “People usually use picture lights as an aesthetic choice,” Ramos says. “The fixtures can add to the overall design of the space.” Since they’re mounted close to the artwork, picture lights lend a more intimate viewing experience.
“Art is both an inspiration and an asset. It’s a reflection of people’s personality and taste. In order to bring out the best of the artwork and do it justice, you absolutely need to have beautiful lighting.”
Cecilia RamosSenior Director for the Architectural Market, Lutron
Downlights
The downlight category includes recessed lights and ceiling-mounted spotlights, which are aimed to highlight a specific piece of art. When using downlights, the light source should be tilted at a 30-degree angle to avoid glare (for pieces behind glass) and accentuate the artwork. By using this rule, you’re able to pick up on just the right amount of texture and subtly enhance the shadows and highlights.
To use the 30-degree angle rule, the fixture must be able to tilt. For recessed lights, downlights offer 364 degrees of rotation and 40 degrees of tilt. Their LED lamps can also be screwed into aimable, surface-mounted fixtures.
Track Lights
Museums frequently select track lights for their flexibility. Because they’re typical in museums, we often see track lighting used in homes with large art collections and galleries. With track lights, collectors can frequently rotate the items on display since the lights can be adjusted easily. Moreover, track lights can be used to create either a spotlight or wall-washing effect depending on the optics and lenses chosen.
Tips for Conserving Artwork
Avoid Direct Sunlight
Taking measures to preserve artwork through proper lighting is incredibly important.
Exposing art to heat and high levels of UV rays can fade or otherwise damage the piece over time. To prevent this, keep the art out of direct sunlight and consider installing UV-filtering window treatments, which can be automated to protect nearby art.
Choose the Best Type of Light for Your Art
Older light bulbs have higher UV output than contemporary LED bulbs. LEDs emit zero UV and have a long lifespan, making them a safe and convenient option for lighting art.
Halogen bulbs, while good for casting cool tones, produce higher levels of heat and UV rays. If using a halogen bulb, the fixture will require a UV-filtering lens in order to conserve the artwork. Older incandescent bulbs should be avoided altogether. They’re bad for the environment, produce a lot of heat, and damage art more severely.
In Summary - Techniques for Lighting Artwork
Directional Lighting: Position light sources to shine directly on the artwork.
Adjustable Lighting: Use fixtures with adjustable brightness and direction.
Consistent Lighting: Ensure consistent lighting across all pieces in a gallery.
Avoid Natural Light: Prevent damage from direct sunlight and harsh artificial light.
Lighting Temperature: Consider the color temperature of the light.
Lighting Placement: Experiment with different placements and angles of light sources.
Please contact IntelliCasa to discuss your artwork lighting needs with us:
+44 20 7205 2536