“I’m feeling a change in the wind,’’ he said. “People are less hunkered down and feel more optimistic about the future.’’
With the commercial real estate sector experiencing a burst of activity after a long lull, designers and art dealers report that developers and corporate tenants are willing to spend money on artworks that both decorate and help humanize corporate spaces with color and intrigue.
“There is a boom on the horizon,’’ Maugel said. “You are seeing a lot of construction, and whenever there is a building going in, or apartments, there are walls.’’ He said half of the 52 commercial projects he is working on involve purchasing art.
Companies that buy work from art dealers and galleries can spend up to $30,000 for a 120,000-square-foot space, Maugel said. Biotechnology, life sciences, and venture capital firms are the latest to take the plunge.
The deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum in Lincoln has gained 12 members in its corporate art loan program this year, said Elizabeth Geller, head of the program. Subscriptions cost $1,500 to $10,500 a year and grant members access to original, contemporary works by artists in the area. It is one of the few museums in the area to offer this.
The program slumped in 2007, when the economy and real estate sectors cooled, but climbed to 91 corporate members last year and is now at 97.
“All arrows are pointing to more momentum,’’ Geller said. “Within the last year and a half we are feeling the pace. We are very energized, motivated, and thrilled with the commitment to share more art.’’
One deCordova member is George Haddad, president of Liaison International, a Watertown information technology company. He just increased his annual art budget by $1,000 to $5,000, and among the works on loan from the museum are a pair of photographs depicting a dog’s eye view of a park. He hung them in a conference room where his employees can enjoy them.
