Build Your Art Collection in a Snap

Photo credit: Aleks Davidovich
Who wouldn't want to be an art collector? But things like budget and know-how tend to stand in the way of that aspiration. Rest assured, art lovers, help is at hand. A new photography project, Captured 52, launches on Saturday, May 2 and intends to simplify the process and have you with awesome art on your walls in a snap.
Think stunning photos in large scale and a streamlined purchasing process, and you'll have some sense of what Captured 52 is all about. “Our goal with Captured is to change the way we not only look at photography, but redefine its value among many people, not a rarified few—as big, powerful, contemporary art," says Peter Johnson, founder.
The process is simple. There's a photograph from a different photographer on sale for every week of the year—hence the "52". Each image will be available for one week, in only one size, for only one price—once that week is over the chance is lost to purchase that photo. And you'd better have some serious wall space: the photos only come in large print sizes, starting at 40" x 40" and going up to 60" x 80" for some photos. Prices range from $1,752 to $2,752.
According to Johnson, each image is selected for its impact as a large piece. “The images we’ve curated are meant to stand on their own, at both a cerebral and gut level,” says Johnson. “When it comes to art, it either draws you in or it doesn’t. With Captured, we’ve distilled the often confusing process of buying fine art photography to its simplest form—offering images that speak to the singular power of the piece.”
The idea for Captured 52 came to Johnson after a conversation with his Chicago-based photographer friend, Jessica Tampas, about her photo of a creepy doll. "I asked her what size she'd like to see her photograph in, and she said 60" x 80"," recalls Johnson. "I had never heard of 60" x 80", it was never even on my radar. She showed me a picture on her iPad, and it completely transformed that piece that I was looking at [in a smaller version] into contemporary art." That moment was the start of a process for Johnson. "That really got me thinking about how people don’t really have the opportunity to see or own big photographs like this."
All images are printed on Hahnemuhle paper, in a Larson-Juhl handcrafted shadowbox frame. Your purchases are delivered in a large, hand built wooden crate, and every work of art comes with a coffee table book of all 52 images, and the stories behind them.
Ideally, Johnson aims to continue this project for many seasons to come. He wishes to eventually be able to present them all in one gallery or offer a few on display for charity. "I don’t think that people think out of the box unless you help them think out of the box," Johnson says.
The first photograph for sale is already visible on the website, and will go on sale from May 2nd, so get ready: Your art collection may be only a few clicks away.