You’ve found an artwork you love. Your hand is 95 percent of the way to your pocket, and all that’s needed is a little reassurance you’re making the right decision. In instances such as this where you’re wondering what your desired artwork might look like in your space, Melbourne-based art collector Nikita Le Messurier says art visualising apps are helpful. “This kind of technology is useful if you would like to realise the relative proportions of the work. Apps can overlay the image of a painting onto a wall through the lens of your phone, or place an artwork into a space and move it around digitally.” Most art visualising apps are available for free with in-app purchases to upgrade to additional features. These are our recommendations.
WALLARY
The WALLARY app goes a step further and uses augmented reality to scan your own space, allowing you to place artwork anywhere in a real-time environment. Upload an image of your artwork and start AR mode to view and move it around within your interior. Using AR technology is similar in style to gaming apps like Pokemon Go; WALLARY brings artwork into your home without leaving the gallery. Experiment with size and placement via your phone — there are no rules when it comes to how you incorporate art into your home. “Galleries are very helpful in this regard too,” Le Messurier adds. “I was considering a piece for a specific space recently, and one of the gallery assistants at STATION used photoshop to proportionally fit the work into a photograph of the room.”
VOUN FRAME X
On a smaller scale, the Voun Frame X app helps with choosing the right frames and matts for wall-based frameable pieces and shows how different textures and hues work with an artwork. Users can choose from a diverse range of frames before overlaying them onto an image of their artwork. Designed as a tool to choose framing rather than visualising an entire interior, Voun does allow you to see how a frame looks on a variety of wall finishes. To avoid aesthetic conflicts, Colliver recommends sharing your digital mockups with your significant other. “You don’t want them to tell you how much they dislike an artwork after you have paid for it as this can be discouraging and affect your confidence.”
ACUTE ART
In a different vein and pushing the boundaries of art visualising apps is Acute Art. Bringing the gallery to you in a uniquely personal way, Acute Art is a digital platform collaborating with internationally renowned artists to create work specifically for the virtual and augmented reality environments. Like being the curator of your own art show, users can select digitally animated works by artists like KAWS, Judy Chicago and Anish Kapoor, to interact with their real-time environment via a phone screen — providing a one-on-one experience with art in any space you choose.
ARTROOMS
Popular with galleries and artists, Artrooms is a virtual staging app allowing users to upload photos of their art into a predetermined space. There is a huge range of interiors to cycle through. Choose light filled rooms, paint the room a certain colour or see how your artwork looks in a living space compared to a bedroom. The option to add multiple artworks to one room is also available here. A small painting for a tight corner or a varied collection spread across an eclectic salon hang. “Be curious,” says Art Pharmacy founder and curator Emilya Colliver. “Like wine, art is a very personal taste.”
Above: Behind the dining table sit works by Ramesh Mario Nithiyendran, Nabilah Nordin and Troy Emery with oil paintings by Paul Ryan. Courtesy: Zoe Murphy.
Papier-mâché dog from MCA sits behind Guframini Pratone by Gufram. Courtesy: Josh Jessup and Matt Moss.
SamSon by Magis chair with Atelier Haussmann Berlin plant hanger, custom Minerva Artlab couch table and curtains by Ado Goldkante. Courtesy: Kristina (Mia) Maria Martin.
In the kitchen of Zoe Murphy’s home hangs CAFÉ by McLean Edwards with two Arch chairs by Sarah Ellison and Magis Sam Son yellow chair from De De Ce. Courtesy: Zoe Murphy.