By John Barry
I recently listened to an expert describing how to arrange paintings for an exhibition. Producing a pleasing arrangement of paintings where all aspects are considered, involved a great deal of preparation, including laying the whole display out on the floor to replicate what would eventually be on the wall.
Having been part of an exhibition team many times, I inwardly groaned at this optimism. If you too have had to arrange an exhibition, you will know that definitely there will be a change of plan once it is all on the wall. Moving one or more paintings leads to a ripple effect of having to move others. Each time this is done the repositioned paintings have to be adjusted in height, space or level. Tempers rise. The weak sob. The strong resign.
The expert was absolutely correct in his explanation of the factors to be considered for a pleasing lay-out. But there is another stress-free way of hanging paintings. Our group has been using it for years. If your group is interested, read on.
We have two types of boards: wall panels and free-standing panels. Obviously the latter have two viewable sides. Both types are covered in a Velcro-compatible material called ‘Prelude’* which comes in various colours. (Actually, old woollen blankets would do a good job too). This is held firm to the wooden boards (1200 x 900 x 4mm plywood) by contact glue and heavy staples. We have affixed a specially profiled picture rail to the walls of our exhibition area. This fits to the reciprocally profiled rail at the back of the wall panels. (See figure 1). That’s the boards.
Now, the paintings. After a careful explanation and a demonstration to all our painters, our group now know that they have to present their paintings with Velcro strips – or dots (hook version) stuck and stapled to the back of their paintings’ frames. Can’t work with metal frames, sorry. (See figure 2). If the strips are not stapled – and faith invested in only the sticky back of the strip, eventually just the warmth of the air and the weight of the paintings will cause the tape to separate from the frame.
Have no fear about Velcro’s tenacity. We haven’t lost a picture yet. Apart from a couple where the stapling rule wasn’t observed. The amount used is dependent on the weight of the painting. A 700 x 600 framed painting will stay firm with four 30mm strips. Two strips will hold anything smaller.
The exhibition will still need to be planned as our expert explained. However, if required, paintings can now be repositioned by simply pulling them off the panel and pushing them into a new place. No more extracting and repositioning nails, adjusting hanging cords, or re-figuring altered heights and levels. Change of mind? No worries.