Interesting Gallery Wall Solution

[Tammy Moore]

A few years ago I toured some galleries in Hot Springs. There is one that really has stayed with me. The lower floor was a very typical gallery with lots of original paintings on the off-white walls, but she took me upstairs and the mood was astounding. The entire upper floor was devoted to spotlighting one artist at a time. At that time the spotlight was Kincade prints. The elegance of the 2nd level gallery setting was second to none. It had low key lighting. Pretty much the only lighting present was what was spotlighting each framed print. What I think was the most interesting though, was how the strong impression of elegance was there and yet the walls were all covered in a dark, nuetral, short-looped carpet. Yes, carpet.

I asked about the choice of carpet for the walls, something I had never seen before, and she said that it had been an outstanding solution to the problem of heavy artwork rotation. Before, when they would rotate artwork, the walls would need patching and spot-painting to hide the 'nail-holes' from the previous hanging. With the carpet, wall damage was not seen, saving them the time and expense of wall work.

Some of us face the same problem in our home studio galleries. We need wall space for WIPs, paintings waiting for pick up, paintings going in and out for shows, etc. Our walls can take a beating. I don't know how easy it would be to hang carpet on a wall, but it does seem to be a good solution. I am preparing to rework my little studio/gallery room soon. I am going to give it a try; though, I may see if I can find carpet in small squares instead of trying to manage a huge roll.

[Richard Bingham]

Rather than beat up the walls, most galleries use a track/rail system which allows pictures to be hung suspended from the ceiling line.

An inexpensive way to accomplish the same thing is to use a "J" mold aluminum extrusion available in most glass shops in 12' lengths, or a similar item sold in lumberyards as panel-edging.

[Tammy Moore]

Yes, I have seen those hanging systems. They do a fair job of trying to hide the systems so the artwork stands out not the hanging system. But I think the carpet on the wall idea is really neat.

I thought I would try doing a web search to see what I could find. I need to do that anyway for when I start remodlelling. Here are some interesting links I found (once I figured out a workable search term that didn't give me tons of hits for 'wall to wall carpet')

Here is a neat little 'velcro-like' hanger that will stick itself to the wall carpet:
http://www.prohanger.net/

This one takes the carpet idea and uses it for festival displays:
http://denver.craigslist.org/art/293212371.html

Here is someone who tells about installing carpet on the walls of a home theater:
http://www.fatbulldog.com/theater_complete_new3.html

[Julie Deane]

Hi Tammy -

This is a neat idea. I've seen a variety of cool ideas at various galleries, and it's fun to get options to consider. Thanks for sharing it!

[Richard Bingham]

Originally Posted by Tammy Moore

. . . I think the carpet on the wall idea is really neat.

I do too! - didn't mean to imply it's not.

When a new local "art museum" was completed a few years back, the walls were covered in a carpet-like textile just for this purpose. I'll bet a search will reveal materials suited to this application.