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It’s not surprising that Mike Weber, owner of Weber Fine Art & Consulting, began his career as a graphic designer. He sees empty walls as opportunities for expression, and works with clients to ensure the expressions made on those walls jibe perfectly with the personalities of the people who have to look at them. It’s like designing layouts, but the layout of a wall is larger and makes a more personal statement than the pages of magazines.
Buy What You Respond To
“Art should be accessible,” Weber says, but it doesn’t always feel that way to people who are looking to buy it. Either they’re not sure where to find artists they would like or they feel intimidated by the mood within a gallery. “I show them that the galleries are not the only avenue for buying art.”
Weber says his process relies largely on observation and conversation – seeing how clients live and what they respond to positively and negatively. For Gina and Scott Ziegler, who wanted to append a couple of Marcia Dale Dullum paintings they bought for their townhouse in Old Town Alexandria, VA, Weber found they responded well to vivid contrasts, neutral colors, and bold graphics. Gina, a floral designer, is particularly fond of natural motifs and layers of texture. Scott, an investment banker, is fond of Series 65, the distressed wood and resin piece in his office with giant numbers carved into it.
“As you collect, your opinions and ideas about what you like changes,” Weber says, so he always encourages clients to pick a couple pieces that are “challenging” at first glance. The Zieglers’ opinions split over a Craig Alan painting, Magister, with a dark, abstract figure for the dining room, but they have both grown to love it. “You don’t have to have all your opinions and ideas about the art right away,” Weber says.
The Chicken/Egg Problem
Weber works frequently with designers. He doesn’t advise buying art that is primarily decorative – that is, matching your interiors. On the other hand, if your walls are a particular color and the furniture fits a certain aesthetic, “there is a reason you were drawn to those things,” Weber says. Much of his job is to add depth and meaning to the space, to bring in art that has a relationship to the space and the people beyond color-matching.
Michael DeSantis and Patrick Baugh were working with Chryssa Wolfe of Hanlon Design Build Inc. to finish their home in the Palisades, a tall order with their twin boys Nick and Alex at the tricky age of 2. They had some art of their own, including a banner advertising a Washington street fair and a William Christenberry drawing above the mantel in the living area. Weber’s challenge was to find artists for Baugh and DeSantis’ home that wouldn’t overwhelm the elegance of the furniture and fabrics and would not compete with the pieces they already owned, but which would still bring depth and vibrance to the space. The key, he says, is communication at every step. “They’re not going to love everything you bring them,” he says, “but they will love some of it, and that’s where you start.”
Learning the Ropes
Some of Weber’s clients have substantial collections, but many are just starting fresh. The world of buying and selling art is full of what seem like contradictions – that there are only “high” and “low” ends of the spectrum. He says that’s a myth. Art is available at almost any price point, and he says the easiest way to get acquainted with that world is to simply jump in. He advises clients to talk to artists, to read magazines, to question why they love or don’t love something. And for those who don’t have quite so much time to commit? Weber will happily pound the local, national, and international gallery pavement for you.
