5 Tips for Installing Street Art in Your Home

Street art is a term that encompasses a wide-ranging and dynamic set of artworks, from the paintings of Richard Hambleton to the hyperrealistic sculptures of Mark Jenkins. Inspired by graffiti, and—as its title suggests—visual expressions on the street, the peculiarities of street art can also make it a challenge for collectors to display and arrange works in their homes.

Whether it’s finding a visual flow that feels cohesive with your interiors, or optimizing how works are displayed, this article taps experts for five key tips on how to find the perfect balance when it comes to arranging your street art collection.

1. To frame or not to frame?

Street art works sometimes contain distinct characteristics and materials that can influence how they are displayed. This is particularly important when it comes to framing. Some works, such as those by Swoon, have a particularly raw aesthetic that may not suit conventional framing techniques. At the same time, it’s also important to consider how you will protect your piece from damage.

“When the medium or support is fragile—such as a paper-based work, which is far more delicate than a canvas—framing can protect it over time from various factors, including temperature fluctuations that can be harmful,” said Lionel Simon from Paris’s NextStreet Gallery. “This is especially true if the support is very thin.”

Additionally, framing can protect from light and UV rays, which put an artwork at risk without proper framing. It’s important to remember that framing is a way to enhance a work’s intrinsic qualities and that considering the artist’s vision and intentions—as inspired by the street—could inform some of your decisions. “The raw and unrefined character of a work might be undermined by the application of a frame,” Simon suggested.

2. Don’t limit your display by genre

Street art can often be unfairly categorized as distinct from other fine art genres. Many studio-based works by artists who are influenced by graffiti and their history of working on the street have a distinct identity that can often be more closely aligned with other forms of figurative and abstract artworks.

“Just because an artist grew up working on the streets in their teens doesn’t necessarily reflect the nature of their work in the studio, and so this distinct quality of studio work should be taken into consideration when a collector is hanging work to be embraced alongside other fine art genres,” said Roger Gastman from L.A.’s Beyond the Streets.

When hanging your works, however, be sympathetic to the unmistakable character of each piece. This is particularly important with street art, where works are often charged with meaning. “Street art often carries cultural, political, or social messages rooted in its urban origins, and so, respecting this context preserves the integrity, cultural significance, and meaning of the work,” said Lauren Barker from London’s Woodbury House. “Display choices should align with the artist’s vision.”

3. Mind the flow

If you are looking to create a sense of flow when hanging your street-inspired collection in the home, focusing on key themes and balancing different styles and sizes are important considerations. “Consider grouping different genres within the wider street art category to represent them throughout your home,” said Barker.

If, for instance, you have works by the stencil-graffiti artist Blek le Rat, she advises grouping them in one space to showcase this genre in a coherent way: “Different areas can thus be dedicated to different styles, such as traditional graffiti or works from artists,” she suggested. Ensuring that your display has uniform hanging heights will establish its overall cohesiveness, and is another way to create an even sense of flow.

4. Think about lighting

Unlike in a gallery, where the purpose of lighting is to serve the artwork, crafting the lighting for a domestic setting is a balancing act between shaping how your collection is perceived and creating the right atmosphere for your living space.

NextStreet’s Simon advises using multiple directional lights to “highlight every aspect of the surface,” given the three-dimensional nature of some street art works by the likes of Isaac Cordal. “It’s also essential to prioritize bulbs with a color temperature that ensures an accurate rendering without distorting the colors,” he added.

To ensure that lighting is sympathetic to the environment, Simon pointed out that “ambient lighting should be accessorized as much as possible to complement the overall setup.”

5. Let your artwork breathe