A customer came in the other day with a Banksy limited edition print which had been framed in a plain black modern frame, without conservation glass. He wanted to put conservation glass in it, to help prevent fading, as conservation glass is 99% uv protective. I also recommended that we put a spacer between the print and the glass, as there was no mount on the print, and this usually does the job of keeping the glass off the print.
We got talking and I mentioned to him that a couple of years ago, we had framed another Banksy print, Jack and Jill (Police kids), in a very traditional ornate silver frame, so that the new was juxtaposed with the old, and that it had looked very effective.
About an hour after this conversation, the customer came back and said that he wanted to look at alternative frames for his Banksy, and that he thought putting it in a very traditional frame was a fantastic idea. We went through a moulding catalogue and he chose a large ornate frame which we didn’t have in stock, so we ordered a sample. Once the sample arrived, the customer returned and agreed the frame and the mount – a beautiful crimson suedette conservation mountboard by Arqadia – and conservation glass. All processes followed conservation framing as laid down by the Fine Art Trade Guild.
The result is shown in the photo below. I think it looks absolutely stunning.
This is a great example of how ‘thinking outside the box’ can result in a completely alternative look to a piece of art. And that sometimes, taking a risk and doing something completely different, works as well as, if not better than, playing safe.