Although a seemingly unattainable hobby to many, collecting art has grown in popularity in recent years – partly thanks to initiatives such as YellowKorner. With galleries located around the world, YellowKorner specialises in the sale of limited edition photography at affordable prices – offering an inexpensive way to individualise contract projects. Hospitality Interiors‘ Katie Sherry visited YellowKorner’s Mayfair gallery on South Molton Street to find out more …
Collecting art can be seen as an exclusive – and often very expensive – business. The sale of Rhein II by German visual artist, Andreas Gursky, in 2011, remains the most expensive photograph ever sold, at a hefty £2.7m. Although most photographers could only dream of selling a piece at that kind of price, the fact remains that many people have felt ostracised from buying art owing to the associated costs.
Founded in 2006 by photography enthusiasts, Alexandre de Metz and Paul-Antoine Briat, YellowKorner attempts to make art more accessible to a new generation of collectors. “YellowKorner exhibits and markets art photographs, the majority of which are limited editions, numbered and accompanied by a certificate of authenticity,” YellowKorner’s Alexandra Rubina explains.
“In YellowKorner galleries, big names in photography can be found alongside promising contemporary artists. Above all, the gallery aims to be a link between the public and artists.”
YellowKorner’s concept is very simple: instead of producing 10 prints at £5000 each, YellowKorner offers to publish 1000 prints at £50 each – increasing the quantity, and subsequently decreasing the price.
Despite the lower prices, the quality of YellowKorner’s products are very high – all photographs are silver gelatin prints produced in a professional laboratory. The prints are numbered and provided with a certificate of authenticity.
Photographs are available in one or more formats – 20 x 30cm, 24 x 36cm, 60 x 90cm, 100 x 150cm and 120 x 180cm – with limits set from open to limited edition of 500, 200 or 80 copies. Prestige editions, which are limited to 30 copies, are also available.
Alongside an online gallery, YellowKorner exhibits its prints in over 50 exhibition spaces around the globe. As well as the UK, YellowKorner galleries can be found in countries such as France, Russia, Belgium, Spain, Mexico, Canada and the USA – to name a few. Each gallery has a streamlined, black-and-white design, further emphasising the prints in all their glory.
With thousands of prints on offer, YellowKorner features work from up-and-coming artists to established contemporary names – including Man Ray, Jean Dieuzaide, Gustave le Gray, Euge?ne Atget and Dorothea Lange – and period photographers – such as Kimbei, Nadar and Le?on Gimpel. YellowKorner offers photographers the chance to have their work seen by art enthusiasts around the world – allowing them to significantly raise their profile.
This exposure is raised even higher when the prints are featured in hospitality projects. Thanks to the low cost and high level of durability, YellowKorner’s products are ideal for adding an individualised touch to hotel guest rooms and public spaces, restaurants and bars.
The images are categorised into themes – such as celebrities, landscapes, travel, urban – and styles – including black and white, colourful, conceptual, vintage – allowing for a simple selection process when specifying for interior design schemes.
