How Do You Choose Art for Offices and Workspaces?

We spend quite a lot of time at work.

For the art on the wall, that is good news to begin with.It also means we see it quite often.

In the morning. In passing. During a conversation.

Sometimes consciously, sometimes not at all.

An artwork in a workspace becomes part of everyday life.

So perhaps it should offer more than an immediate first impression.

It can have presence without constantly asking for attention.

And it can leave something to discover later.

Choosing art for a workspace is therefore not just about the image itself.

The room matters. So do distance, architecture and how often – and for how long – people encounter the work.

You can look at it for a long time. But you don’t have to.

Neon Kiss – Silhouette CMYK by Florian Seidel. Room visualization, AI.

What makes good art for an office?

Art in an office exists in a particular situation: people encounter it again and again.

You can see this quite clearly in 12 Houses.

From a distance, you first notice colour, grids and graphic structures.

Move closer, and architecture, windows, balconies, cables and small shifts begin to appear.

You don’t have to discover all of that.

But you can.

An image can attract attention. It just doesn’t have to ask for it again every single day.

How important are interior design and architecture?

Very.

Just perhaps not in the way you might think.

An artwork doesn’t hang in a vacuum. Light, wall colour, wood, concrete, glass, furniture and architecture all change the way it is perceived.

A minimalist law firm with lots of glass raises different questions from a notary’s

office with dark wood.

An open-plan office works differently from a small meeting room.

But that doesn’t mean the art has to repeat the interior.

A quiet room can take some colour.

A space with a lot of visual information might benefit from something more restrained.

Harmony is one possibility. Contrast is another.

12 Houses – Vienna / Stacked by Florian Seidel. Room visualization, AI.

What works in corridors and passageways?

Corridors are underrated spaces for art.

In a long corridor, you first see a work from a distance.

Then you get closer.

Finally, you walk past it.

In a narrow corridor, almost the opposite happens: you are automatically very

close to the image.

That can change the choice.

A large work therefore doesn’t automatically need a large room.

And a long corridor doesn’t have to be filled with lots of small pictures.

Several works from a series can, on the other hand, create a rhythm that continues along a corridor or even across different rooms.

It’s not just the wall that matters.

It’s also how you move past it.

One large artwork or several smaller ones?

There is no universal answer.

A single large work can define a room very clearly.

Several works can respond to one another and create a connection between different areas.

This is particularly interesting with series.

The works don’t have to look like a set in order to belong together.

In 12 Houses, for example, different buildings, colours and structures can sit alongside one another. The shared visual language holds them together.

That can work just as well in a conference area as across several offices or along a corridor.

How does art work in large and open offices?

As the size of a room changes, so do the viewing distances.

A work might be seen from two metres away – and a few seconds later from twenty.

Then there are people, monitors, furniture, glass surfaces, doors, light and movement.

Art doesn’t have to try to be even louder in this environment.

From a distance, a large-scale work can initially function through colour and composition.

As you move closer, the view changes and details become visible.

The same image can be different from twenty metres away than it is from two.

What kind of art works in meeting and conference rooms?

Here, people tend to look for longer.

They sit opposite a work, see it during a conversation or notice it in the moments in between.

That’s why art in a meeting room doesn’t have to be as neutral as possible.

It can bring something of its own.

A good image in a meeting room doesn’t have to start a conversation.

But it should be able to withstand one.

And sometimes it does start one after all.

Does art in a law firm or notary’s office have to be serious?

The law firm should be serious. We’re not so sure about the picture.

Of course, context matters.

But seriousness doesn’t automatically mean muted colours, restraint or as little

visual friction as possible.

A particularly clear, precise space can accommodate a surprising work.

What matters less is whether an image looks “serious”.

The more interesting question is:

What does it add to the room?

Does art have to match the corporate identity?

A blue logo doesn’t need a blue picture.

Architecture, interiors and corporate design already say a great deal about a company.

Art can respond to that. But it doesn’t have to illustrate it.

If a work simply repeats the colours and forms of the corporate design, art can quickly become decoration.

It can be more interesting when it brings an additional layer into the space.

Art can suit a company without looking like the company.

Who chooses art for commercial spaces?

Not always the people who will later sit in front of it every day.

For larger projects, interior designers, architects, art consultants or other planners are often involved in the selection.

Then other questions become important alongside the individual work:

Which works can be combined?

Which formats work on the available wall space?

How do they appear from different distances?

Can a series connect several rooms?

These are not purely decorative questions.

They concern the relationship between the work, the space and the architecture.

How do you find art that remains interesting for years?

No one can guarantee that.

Tastes change. Spaces change. People do too.

Perhaps a work doesn’t have to tell you something new every day.

It is enough if it hasn’t told you everything at first glance.

A structure. A repetition. A colour. A detail you have overlooked for a long time.

And eventually you see something that apparently wasn’t there yesterday.

You can look for a long time. But you don’t have to.