Lighting Art

When lit correctly, art takes on a new dimension and seems to come to life. When not lit correctly, it sometimes gets overlooked and doesn’t quite have the same feeling as a properly lit piece. That is why picture lights are so important. Our experts at Light Bulbs Etc can help you light your art correctly to achieve the full potential of the piece.

A sculpture or unframed piece of art can be lit with a combination of recessed lights and track lights. Small pieces of art that cannot handle a picture light can also be lit using recessed lighting. Recessed lighting is a great option for lighting art because it doesn’t not take away from the piece on display and is very minimalistic. Having a picture light above a piece of art sometimes takes away from the piece.

If the situation allows, installing recessed cans to light your art is a very good option. By using a low voltage recessed can, you can utilize an MR16 lamp which comes in a variety of colors and beam spreads. MR16’s come in narrow spots to wide floods and can accommodate the smallest pieces of art to very large pieces. The color spectrums that the MR16’s come in are crucial as the different lamp colors bring out different colors in the artwork. There are a variety of styles of recessed lighting that can be utilized to light art including gimbal rings and adjustable pull down trims. The downside of halogen MR16 lamps are that they create quite a bit of heat, so make sure the lamp is far enough away from the art so the heat doesn’t affect it.

If installing recessed lighting is challenge for any number of reasons, traditional picture lights are also a good option to light artwork. Manufactures like Tech Lighting, House of Troy, Access Lighting, CSL, Alico, ET2 and WAC have a wide range of picture lights. From the traditional picture lights to sleek minimalistic lights that utilize MR16 lamps, our experts and Light Bulbs Etc. can help you select the perfect picture light. In general, a good rule of thumb is to select a picture light that is half the length of the piece of art.