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The Art of Commission

When in search of an individual piece, an artwork that reflects a moment, a person or a unique feeling, many people turn to commission works. Asking an artist to paint something specifically for you or a loved one gives the original artwork something extra – your own personal touch brought to light by the artist’s brush.

Singulart has selected a few of its favorite commission pieces and the stories behind the artworks to highlight the opportunity for such a request. Furthermore, we also gives a few tips on how to best request a commission work on our website since a vast majority of our artists offer this service.

GAIA – Mother Earth :
Commission piece by artist Sang H. Han

The first piece whose story we would like to share was commissioned after the collector fell in love with the art of American painter Sang H. Han. The idea was to create a landscape painting with a similar aura to A cultivated Rainbow (2014), however, with a few animals showcased and a brighter light. The artist agreed to let him name the painting himself after the client’s request, for he felt inspired.

It’s mesmerizing to look at.  I named it Gaia – the ancestral mother of all life.  Mr. Han channels her vision and creates her realm! This painting is seemingly alive. As the light changes from dawn to dusk, the colors and depth change accordingly.

Ausbrecher & Immer Zusammen II by Rudolf Kosow and Ela Köhler

The hope with the next commission piece was to combine the two artworks shown above: Ausbrecher (2016), Rudolf Kosow and Immer Zusammen II (2020), Ela Köhler. The customer wanted a black Labrador looking like their own to be featured and a female figure leaning on him. After having discussed with Singulart, the decision was made to commission Rudolf Kosow for this specific piece, since the dog should be the vocal point. The artist thus received a picture of the collector’s own dog to incorporate it into the painting. The feeling of the second artwork came across in the female figure, mirroring the sense of companionship.

Chuchotement – Sneige

For this specific commission piece a whole family was integrated into an artwork. Based off of a photograph of their faces, Sniege made the family part of her unique gatherings. As you can see below, the artist inserted the father into the middle of the painting and gave the face of the mother and the eldest daughter to the second and third figures on the left. The fourth person on the right is the second daughter.

The Fantastic Story – Alessandro Siviglia

This specific piece was requested as a reinterpretation of the original artwork The Fantastic Story (2019) by Alessandro Siviglia. The French collector wanted all the characters to appear again, but in a different composition. Comparing these two pieces plays out as game of hide and seek.

Trajes V – Elisa Costa

The artwork Trajes V (2018) by the artist Elisa Costa resonated with one of our Swiss Collectors. After sending a picture of his salon, he was able to figure out with the help of Singulart the right size and color scheme of the commission piece. With the background adapted and the size of the artwork adjusted, this artwork fit perfectly into its new home.

Joy of Life & Stardust – Eva Konya

One of our German collectors fell in love when she saw Joy of Life (2015) by Eva Konya and knew she wanted to display it prominently in her living room. Unfortunately, the size of the original was too small. After a few discussions, as well as tweaks and alterations to the original work, her very own Joy of Life was finished. The collector additionally decided on commissioning a second piece that should act as the counterpart to the first painting, and selected Stardust XXII (2019).

Joy of Life is and will remain my favorite piece! It’s an absolute eyecatcher – especially entering my living room. I just want to stand in the doorway and keep looking at it!

The Grey House – Philippe Abril

The collector had just recently bought a 100-year-old home in San Antonio, Texas which he had quickly grown to love. Discovering that the artist Philippe Abril also had a series on village houses, he took a chance and reached out to Singulart. He was pleasantly surprised that the artist really liked the photo of his house and was happy to do a commission piece for him. The final result speaks for itself.

Philippe Abril’s art immediately drew my attention because of his masterful and intuitive use of color. He also has an incredible range and versatility in subject matter, style and vision. I was intrigued and enchanted by Abril’s multi-faceted viewpoints on shapes, patterns, and even the Aboriginal genre.

Coitus – Peter Pitout

The series Homo Digitalis by Peter Pitout inspired a German collector to commission a very specific artwork. This piece depicts a couple during their act of love. Driven by her thoughts on intimacy of couples and how it might be conveyed in the age of digitalization, the physical appearance of this topic was realized through the creative expression of her favorite artist.

The artist then embarked with her on a very creative journey. He started by sending different sketches of possible poses of the loving couple. Necks, arm lengths and finishing touches were discussed with the help of Singulart in order to create the perfect piece for the collector. The final version can be seen below.

The artist was able to establish this perfect balance between reality and surrealism. The image conveys erotica, love, intimacy, and a little bit of lightheadedness.

So how does requesting a commission piece from Singulart work?

There are different ways to commission an artwork on Singulart:

1) The artwork you like is no longer available

Example of a Sold Artwork Page

If the artwork you like is already sold you can request a commission piece. By clicking on the button “commission this artist” you will have the ability to write directly to the Singulart team or chat with an art advisor. If you already know which artist you would like to commission, or you are interested in a specific piece or an alteration of it, mention all your ideas, wishes and requirements such as budget, size, color etc. directly in the first e-mail. By doing so, the Singulart Art Advisor will be better equipped to help and come back with a suggestions.

2) You have an idea in mind but you haven’t seen the perfect artist yet

If you have a photo, subject or idea for a painting but not quite sure which artist would suit you best, there are different solutions. You can either go on a search for the perfect fit in our selection of contemporary artists by clicking on “all our artists”:

By selecting “artists” you can browse by medium, status, country or name for the perfect fit.

Or you can get directly in contact with us by writing us an e-mail or chatting with us. Just indicate the idea, your wish, the style, colors, and themes you would be interested in for a commission work and Singulart’s Art Advisors will help you to find what you are looking for.