Art in America has come down to this: If you’re looking for a painting that matches your sofa, there is now a Web site to help you find it and then buy it.
At IncredibleArt.com, you can search for something from the Cubist movement to liven up an apartment otherwise drowning in beige. Just type in the dimensions of the print you want, and the price range, and the Web site suggests a poster of “Sorrows of the King” by Henri Matisse for $9.60.
If that isn’t enough help, there’s a function where an interior decorator can respond to your pleas for help on what art works match blue shag carpeting.
IncredibleArt.com’s site is being launched this week by Edward Mullen, who admits that he to put it politely is “design-challenged.”
After graduating from Harvard with a degree in economics, Mullen moved frequently around the country, from New York to Chicago to Florida to Tennessee to Los Angeles. Each time, it was the same question: what to put up on those blank walls to make his new apartment seem like home?
IncredibleArt, based in Culver City, offers posters, framed prints and original art. “Art is special, unique and personal,” Mullen said. “It’s not a commodity, like a book. An Ayn Rand novel is an Ayn Rand novel is an Ayn Rand novel. But you don’t want to randomly throw up a picture on a wall.”
The site was started late last year by Mullen and his brother, Geoff. After receiving early financing from Reebok International Ltd. Chairman and CEO Paul Fireman and local media mogul Harry Chandler, the company has 15 full-time employees.
While customers can zoom in on particular artworks to examine fine details, can it really beat gawking in a gallery? “I’d never buy anything without looking at it in person,” said Candace Lee, an arts advisor and former manager of the Saxon-Lee Gallery. “If you’re buying it to match your d & #233;cor, the blue that’s shown on the picture on the computer may not match the blue on your sofa.”
Mullen said he isn’t targeting his site at art experts, but the average Joe moving into his first apartment or house and who just wants to have something that looks fabulous up on his wall.
There are 25,000 pieces of art available for purchase on the site, with an additional 75,000 that can be special ordered. The maximum price is $2,500.
Local painter Josh Shultz will soon submit several pieces of his artwork to be sold at IncredibleArt.com. Shultz paints with airbrushes and sprays on plexiglass. (He doesn’t have to pay a fee to display his work on the site, although IncredibleArt receives a commission when a piece sells.)
“It’s exciting on one hand to be approached,” Shultz said. “But I’m also a little concerned because with the exposure, I don’t want to see a lot of people trying to bite (copy) my style. There’s a lot of struggling artists who want to copy something that sells.”
