The X Factor in Art Buying

There is an X Factor that exists in the art world – particularly for buyers; and it is an element that is hard to sum up.

It is when you know you have fallen in love with a painting or a piece of sculpture – because it does something to you, even if you can’t define exactly what that is. It speaks to you.

Let’s look at paintings in particular here. Maybe the reason will be really obvious; igniting a memory of a place, or that the subject matter resonates with you. Or sometimes, it will just get under your skin because you get a feeling when you look at it; a shudder across your shoulder blades; it transports you somewhere.

From the obvious ‘awe’ around really fine detailed work – to the wildness of abstract expressionism, and everything in between, there just is an inescapable X Factor around art, something that happens to people that is sometimes hard to pin down, to fully understand it.

We see it OFTEN in the gallery – it happens regularly to people, even to those who have NEVER knowingly had a love of art before; those innocent passers by, who have merely stumbled upon the gallery perchance, or been dragged in by an overly enthusiastic partner. Those people can be struck one day, as though by lightening, when stood in front of a particular piece. They just need to have it – and outside of the obvious, i.e. the beauty of the piece, or the huge talent, (there are lots of beautiful pieces and talented artists in galleries) they just can’t explain how or why this ONE piece has suddenly developed a kind of burgeoning, growing need within them!
THIS is why ‘buyers remorse’ in the art world is a very real thing!

Often people think more of the piece that got away, than the ones they have bought.

That is the moment; the X Factor that is hard to put into words. We suspect there is an energy around certain pieces that just can’t be explained; a connection that is formed when someone meets ‘their’ piece for the first time. It sounds batty – but its real. We see it everyday.

Having grown up in the industry, (but not being artists ourselves) it happens to us a lot – we have to be more restrained, obviously, being surrounded by beautiful things in the gallery all the time, but Ailish and I regularly find ourselves getting very excited around certain pieces of art – and ‘buyers remorse’ has most certainly happened to us too! Understanding the industry and knowing a good piece from a great piece, is all well and good but yet, all the ‘knowing’ in the world sometimes just can’t define the energetic X Factor that we speak of.

As curators, Ailish and I have a real appreciation and love for art in all form and we tend to appreciate and love all the paintings (and sculptures) that arrive to the gallery. But loving them doesn’t always ignite that ‘I simply have to have it’ energy that we speak of.

In painting terms, for instance, I love so many styles. I love when canvasses are huge, and you can immediately see the evident bravery of the artist to create something so big, so colourful, so awe inspiring. I also love when the paintings are small, with perfect compositions and a reason to draw you in. I love when paintings make a loud statement – and leave you thinking – and I love when they are quieter and evoking calm. I love when colour palettes are warm and inviting, or vivid and striking. I love when you place a painting in a space – and that space completely changes as a result of it being there – I love when paintings speak to you; when they ‘keep on giving’, so that every time you peer at it, you see something else that you hadn’t spotted before. I love when the detail is so fine you are left in awe of the person’s talent. I also love when the artist is wild, creative and loose, showcasing their energy, and their true understanding of form and colour. I love when an artist layers oil so thick it’s almost three dimensional, or uses mixtures of different mediums to bring a piece to life. I love when you can smell the oils, or the acrylics, thick and fresh on the canvas –

But loving all of that is one thing, what it really comes down to, is simply standing in front of a painting which, rather powerfully, makes something shift within you – evoking an emotional reaction.

I am working in the industry a long time and living within it a lot longer – and yet, despite loving so much about art, I still can’t fully define the X Factor for buyers, other than to describe it as an ‘energy’ that resonates with a viewer. Sometimes its really clear and EVERYONE can feel that SAME energy for a piece – and sometimes it is reserved for only a special few.

But it exists.

Liz Greehy – Curator Kilbaha Gallery

Featured Pieces: Wave by Bairbre Duggan available HERE – and – Resonance of the Enigmatic Woods by Mary Rose Keane, available HERE