ART
THE GALLERY DEMOCRATIZING ART AND SELLING THE WORLD’S LARGEST COLLECTION OF FLORAL ART | BY JAMES ES SEX
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hy do we as a society love artwork that depicts beautiful flowers? From Ambrosius Bosschaert’s classic 1617 work — Still Life with Flowers — to Andy Warhol’s more modern pop-focused Flowers, centuries of art lovers have flocked to museums to view such simple and elegant subjects. For some the appeal might be in how flowers have influenced our lives. Who hasn’t pined for the smell of Spring’s first bloom after a long winter hibernation? For others maybe they enjoy all the ways an artist can represent a flower. Flowers symbolize both love or heartbreak, fertility or decay, purity or promiscuity, and even life or death. I love floral art because of the sense of calm it can bring to a room. The depictions of blossoms and blooms offer an emblem of hope that can bring a smile to my face on even the darkest day. Maybe that’s why floral artwork is seeing such a resurgence in popular culture? Unfortunately, finding beautiful floral photography and prints has been quite the challenge for art collectors in recent years. Yes, you can easily find a floral patterned iPhone case. But locating the perfect floral image that suits your particular artistic tastes can be difficult. It seems as if there are only a few real options available to collectors. You can either purchase extremely limited runs of a very small handful of prints or large format one-offs at an exorbitant price or you can buy a mass produced print from a museum’s gift shop. Those have been your only options and neither are great. This was the constant struggle I faced as a collector and it wasn’t until recently that I was finally introduced to a gallery that would change how I purchased my art — Lumas Gallery. Founded by Stefanie Harig and Alexander Ullrich after a chance encounter with a photograph dealer at an antique market, the pair went on to create the world’s first “democratized” art photography gallery. Based around the idea that art should be for everyone, Lumas’ goal has been “to make top quality art attainable for all those who are interested in it.” For Lumas, buying art shouldn’t be difficult. 12 | UPSCALELIVINGMAG.COM | WINTER 2022
You should be able to find the style you want from a well established artist at a price point you’re happy with paying. I think this is why they’ve been so wildly successful. Lumas currently has twenty-four locations worldwide and plays host to over two-hundred-and-fifty established artists. While the in-person galleries are stunning, most art lovers will be drawn to Lumas’ online space. They offer a wide variety of themes and styles — which include city scapes, people, animals, landscapes, and of course flowers. Lumas may actually have the world’s largest online floral collection. Whether you’re interested in the traditional themes of Annet Van Der Voort’s Vantas X or something more abstract like Daniel Maria Thurau’s Wild at Heart, Lumas offers flower focused art for every taste and price point. Plus, many of the pieces they offer online are limited edition runs that are hand signed by the artist, which give their collection that extra touch of sophistication. I have purchased several different pieces as gifts for friends and family and as accent pieces to spruce up various rooms in my home. If I had to pick a favorite from their collection it would have to be Marc Quinn’s 50x33, Summer Skating on the Thames. I’ve never had such a simple piece receive so many compliments. I love the way the colors interact with one another as well as the feeling I get every time I see the strawberries in the foreground. I’m brought back to my favorite boyhood memory of the joy I’d feel when finding fresh ripened strawberries in the woods. The whole print is both irresistible and alluring and it serves as the perfect overstimulation needed when life turns cold and the plant life around me retreats in the face of a cruel winter. If you’re looking for your next perfect print or piece of photography I would highly recommend stopping in at Lumas’ online shop to see if they have something for you. I promise you’ll find some piece of happy art that will brighten your home just as it has brightened mine.
