Many times in this blog, I have discussed perception, perspective and the way works of art are viewed. Up until now, these discussions have centred around the subject, medium, size, colour, recognisability and context of said works, however, what is often an overlooked but extremely important aspect of how a work is received, is its physical presentation. This aspect of the physicality of a work can often cause mixed feelings in an artist, attempting to frame or present a piece of work that you have slaved over for weeks, months or more, in the perfect way can feel like an immense pressure. Often, painters opt to move away from the archaic tradition of adorning their painting with a cumbersome gilded frame – most likely because the concept of art as a physical manifestation of wealth is no longer quite as flamboyant as it was originally – with some forgoing the framing process altogether.

Considering all of this, I have been pondering how my works are received and how their physical presentation may alter the discussions I am hoping to raise with my work. Previously I have always presented my work as paint on canvas along, playing with background colours, hanging height and spacing, but never exploring framing, unconventional installation or even making the paintings sculptural through their presentation. With some exciting projects in the pipeline, I have started playing around with framing some of my works, and so for this weeks post I decided to investigate presentation and installation of some of my favourite, and some famous artists.

As you will know from my previous posts, fellow emerging artist Elle Guest is someone whose work fascinates me for a number of reasons! Not only do I love her process, concept and the aesthetic of her work, but I find her unconventional presentation methods extremely interesting. For her degree show, she presented stretched canvases as free standing, almost sculptural works, with bright orange stands, propped on cushions. I love the reference to comfort and pressure that is mimicked by the soft, bodily forms in her work and would be intrigued to know more about her intentions behind this presentation method, and I would have loved to have seen the work in person!

In contrast to Guest’s extremely original method of presenting her paintings, some contemporary painters do still opt for traditional framing, all be it much more simple than the gilded gold frames one can see in the likes of the National Portrait Gallery. Frank Bowling, for example – whose work I discussed in my most recent post – when presenting framed work, chooses a plain wooden frame which rests simply around the canvas. I feel that in doing so an element of finished-ness is implied, however because of the scale of many of Bowling’s works, often the frame feels unnecessary, I wonder if maybe this is due to the generational gap between Bowling and the likes of Guest; a nod towards the perceived traditions of painting.

I suppose in many ways, the frame is to a painting what a plinth is to sculpture. While still extremely useful and employed by many artists to elevate – both literally and figuratively – their works, they are no longer seen as compulsory presentation tools in contemporary fine art. Just as artists have broken boundaries of medium, form, process, subject, representation and scale, presentation methods are no longer set, the white cube effect is falling away before our eyes, and more and more, artists are choosing to frame/present/install their work in ways that best compliment the discussions they wish to raise, rather than simply what is the convention for their medium!

All of these considerations have made me ponder quite deeply the way in which I want my work to be presented. I have been pleased with the lack of frame with my work so far, however I feel that has predominantly been down to the fact that multiple works have been presented together, as an installation or series, rather than individual pieces. As my practice has developed since the completion of my degree, I have found myself considering my works as individual pieces, rather than a collection, as I saw them during my studies. Because of this, I have been starting to think about framing some of my larger works, especially as new and exciting opportunities to exhibit in groups have arisen. This week I have been trialling painted wooden frames for some of my most recent paintings, as always, you can keep an eye on my social media to see how it’s all coming along, but I’m sure this will not be the last time I consider presentation, framing and the influence of installation on this blog!