Unexpected Value in Art

A rare 18^th century Chinese vase sold at auction in England for almost £1m last week. The vase which was valued at £10,000 to £15,000 turned out to be an extremely rare ornament which was made for a Chinese emperor in around 1730.

The vase had been kept in a house in North Yorkshire, England for 45 years and the owner had no idea of its value. Stories like this demonstrate the importance of storing your art pieces securely, as you never know the real value of your collection!

Cube Fine Art is able to store your art pieces whatever they may be, safely and securely in the hope that they will appreciate in the future. Our climate controlled facility is also ideal for storing precious items that are sensitive to heat, cold, dust and humidity. Cube offers unparalleled facilities to protect your art. Get in contact to speak to one of our expert consultants to discuss your unique storage requirements today or call us on 29142200.

Hidden Treasures

You may be pleased to know that although art does not always go up in value, it is far more likely that it will than with most other investments. Its value can be largely attributed to the stature and popularity of the artist. It must also be highlighted that in many cases an artist becomes more famous after their deaths in years to come.

The value of your prized art collection could double, perhaps even triple in future so the importance of storing your art appropriately is paramount and is essential in the fine art of investing.

Take Peter Doig’s painting The Architect’s Home in the Ravine for example; the piece sold at auction in 2002 for £314,650, 11 years later in February 2013 the piece sold for a whopping £7.7 million!

Now we’re not saying storing your art with us will automatically make it go up in value! But Cube is the ideal place to store your art, preserving its value in the hope that one day it will have appreciated extensively.

We have a temperature controlled storage facility that maintains temperature requirements and humidity levels effectively protecting your artworks from premature aging, dust and mold  Not to mention our state of the art security systems, your artworks really are in safe hands.

Get in contact now to make arrangements to take advantage of our state of the art facility and specialist services to store your art investments. 

The Oscars

3 o clock in the afternoon yesterday, Los Angeles bore witness to the most fantastical of all awards ceremonies, the Oscars. Each year, one of the most memorable elements of the awards is of course the amazing frocks and designer outfits flaunted on the red carpet. Armani, Vivienne Westwood, Miu Miu, Roberto Cavalli to name a few.

 

Along with fine art our climate controlled storage is ideal for clothing collections. Our facility offers effective protection against premature aging and heat related malfunctions... and moths!  Haute-clothing collections are a thing of beauty and an art in itself. So if you have any Oscar style gowns lurking around, give them the best chance of survival possible by storing them with Cube Fine Art Services.

 

Oscar Winners: Daniel Day-Lewis, Jennifer Lawrence, Anne Hathaway, Christoph Waltz

Don’t Let Your Art Disappear

Keep your art safe and secure at Cube Fine Art Services. Our 24 hour digital CCTV is in operation both inside and outside all areas of the facility. Each unit is individually alarmed and monitored from our reception. Furthermore our temperature controlled storage facility with cooling accuracy within one degree Celsius protects your artwork from fading away through natural wear and tear. Heat, cold, dust, mould and humidity will not prematurely age your art in our units.

However, not everybody wants to keep their art visible! Chinese artist, Liu Bolin creates art work which he blends into the background so that it seems to disappear. His project “Hiding in the City” sees him merge his own body into his surroundings so that from a certain angle he appears invisible. But Bolin’s art carries a powerful message regarding China as a country and the role of the individual within. After having his studio torn down by the government, he made himself disappear as they so wished. Through cleverly disappearing in front of magazine racks and coal heaps, Lui Bolin’s pictures are conveying a strong political message.

Luckily for Bolin, here at Cube Fine Art Services, we are aware that every piece of art is unique and adapt to the individual. This February we are offering a free storage consultation to assess the best storage environment for your art... we’ll even try and sort something out for the disappearing kind!

Contact us today for more information.

Calender Timeline a la Song Dong

I can barely remember what I did last month, let alone the one before it. Consider trying to recall every single month of your life so far and encapsulating it in a picture. Well that’s exactly what Chinese artist, Song Dong, spent a year doing at the Asia Art Archive in Hong Kong. He created a separate illustration for each of the 432 months he had spent on the earth, accompanied by a short essay. These prints were copied and bound into 36 annual calendars to correlate with the life of the 36 year old Song Dong.

However Mr Dong’s project did not end here: on the 21^st January, he invited over 400 members of the public to edit his illustrations, as they saw fit, to match their own interpretation. Copies of the calendar were placed on 432 desks where the public could add their own memories and add another layer of historical perspective. Song Dong’s project was already vast, but with the addition of public participation, this was art on a mass scale.For all of the original altered illustrations that do not get displayed in the Asia Art Archive and other galleries, it is necessary to preserve them in the appropriate manner. This event was history in the making with hundreds of unique pieces created in the blink of eye. Here at Cube Fine Art Services, we recognise the individuality of each artistic creation and endeavour to tailor storage to their bespoke needs.  

Whether it be Song Dong’s artistic creations, the altered public versions or your own artwork which holds a sentimental value, we are happy to store it for you. Our state of the art climate controlled facilities prevent premature ageing and protect the timeless quality of your artwork. So why not create your own calendar timeline today and store it with us here at Cube Fine Art Services. Contact us for more information.

Protect Your Fine Art This Year

With the New Year just around the corner, it’s time to think about what you want to achieve in the coming twelve months. Although you’ll probably be thinking of New Year’s resolutions such as how to obtain wealth, becoming happier or maybe even losing some weight, might we suggest something a little more practical like helping to protect your pieces of fine art this year.

At Cube Fine Art Services, our whole business revolves around storing and protecting artwork. Our purpose built facility will not only protect your priceless pieces from theft but will also help to preserve them thanks to our climate controlled storage facility.

If you would like to know more about any of our services for the New Year, please contact us.

How To Prepare Your Sofa For Storage

At Cube Self Storage H.K., we see a lot of customers who are storing large household items in between house moves. One of the main items that are stored are sofas and our storage rooms can easily accommodate three seaters, two seaters and armchairs. Here are some top tips for preparing your sofa for storage:

Tip 1 – Cleaning
It’s important that your sofa is clean before placing it in storage. Make sure that you have thoroughly vacuumed your sofa to remove dust, dirt and pet hairs. This includes vacuuming right down in between the cushions if they cannot be removed. If your sofa is leather, we recommend using an appropriate leather suite cleaning kit prior to storage or if your sofa is fabric use an approved fabric cleaner.

Tip 2 – Protection
Although your sofa can be stored as it is without additional protection, we do recommend covering your sofa during storage. This will stop any dust getting on it. The best way to cover your sofa is by covering or wrapping it in a breathable piece of fabric.

Tip 3 – Location
To ensure your sofa stays in its correct shape during storage, we recommend storing it on its base as you would at home. It’s also important to protect your sofa from damage by sharp objects you also have in storage by not placing boxes or other objects on top of your sofa. However to maximise your storage space, other cushions, pillows, duvets, towels or blankets could be stored on your sofa without causing damage.

We hope you have found these tips useful. If you would like to know more about our self-storage options, please contact us.