An art gallery at home

A gallery at home

“I remember it clearly,” Simone says. “I was outside and thinking about how I wanted to do something beautiful with my house. It’s a beautiful property on a stunning estate in the middle of the forest. I have so much space, but I live here alone. I wanted to share my space, to do something good with my house. Not by renting out rooms, I had tried that for a year and it didn’t suit me. I was looking for other options.”

Helping artists sell their work

At the same time, Simone wondered what she could do with the beautiful white walls in her house. “I had been looking for art for a while, but I didn’t dare just walk into a gallery. What if I asked stupid questions? And online I couldn’t really feel the art, couldn’t experience it.”

Suddenly, that frustration and the possibilities of the space in her house clicked together. “What if I used my beautiful white walls to help artists sell their work?” Simone wondered. “I literally ran home and called a friend to pitch this idea. In the weeks that followed, I spoke with several gallery owners and quickly decided that I would do it: turn my own home into a gallery.”

The difference between art and interior decoration

Simone naturally started looking for suitable artworks to exhibit: “I select artists based on two things. First, I find craftsmanship very important. I love artists who have spent years developing their skills. The work must also be something the creator has dedicated hours, days, or even weeks to. For me, that craftsmanship is what distinguishes art from interior decoration. Additionally, I stay away from conceptual art. In my gallery, you will find art that is beautiful for the home, works that can enrich your interior.”

A professional hanging system

Another important aspect of transforming her home into a gallery was hanging the lighting and installing a solid and beautiful system to hang the artworks on the wall. Simone: “I started googling professional hanging systems and that’s how I ended up at Artiteq. I found good brochures with beautiful visuals and clear explanations.”

“I could see at a glance what options were available and what materials I needed. A few weeks later, I installed no less than 183 linear meters of rails in just two days together with the installer from Artiteq. I could then immediately get to work hanging the artworks, and I have never regretted it for a second.”

The system is almost visually invisible

Simone chose the Click Rail Pro because it blends beautifully with the wall. “I wanted something that wouldn’t stand out,” she explains. “The bottom of the rail is almost closed, you can’t see into it. I painted the rails the same color as my walls. You don’t need connectors with this system. You can create lengths of 7 to 8 meters without visible interruptions. Visually, the system is therefore almost completely invisible.”

Simone’s favorite accessory is the flat canvas hook with a load capacity of 10 kilograms. “I use that the most. You have to tighten it with a screwdriver, so in that respect, it’s a bit less convenient than, for example, the twister hook. But the grip is fantastic. Aluminum frames hang tightly and stably against the wall with these hooks. And with most artworks, the hook is completely invisible because it’s a bit shorter,”

Simone is very pleased with the appearance and use of the system. “The minimalist look of the rail is very nice and the load capacity of 50kg is more than enough,” she says. “You can hardly see the perlon hanging wires. For me, this is therefore the best solution on the market both professionally and aesthetically.”

A gallery where you feel at home

What started as a hobby has grown into a successful business with 6 team members in just one year. Every two months, Simone and her team organize a new exhibition. “In a year, about 700 artworks from around 50 different international artists find a place in my home,” says Simone.

When curating her collections, she mainly looks at what she personally finds beautiful. “I try not to think about the commercial aspect and do not choose based on what I think will sell,” Simone explains. “I go for paintings and sculptures that I find very beautiful, from a variety of artists. And I create beautiful combinations with them that I present in eleven different spaces in my home.”

Creating Combinations

“Combining fashion is very common,” Simone shares. “But when it comes to art, works by different creators are often presented separately. When people start building their own art collection, they also make combinations of different creators. That’s why I present the artists as a team. Sometimes in my living room, there are 10 works made by 10 different people that complement each other perfectly.”

During an exhibition, Simone and her colleagues guide about 250-300 people, each of whom has reserved a time slot of an hour and a half via the website. On average, about a third of the exhibited artworks find a new owner during an exhibition. “I want people to feel at home. That’s why they are allowed to walk around in my house during their visit. While enjoying a snack and a drink, they can view the artworks at their leisure in the setting of a stylish home. And well, sometimes people fall in love,” Simone concludes with a laugh.

Art credits: 
Rosa Peters, Yvonne Broeren, Quinda Verheul, Sophie de Vos, Sander Reijgers, Jochem Essen, Anders Below, Van der Camp & Heesterbeek, Paula Pääkkönen, Hetty Blankesteijn, Marianne Kemp, Vivian Ammerlaan, Bibi Smit.

Special thanks to art gallery ‘Art Gallery Simone Jansen’.