Visual art is a very powerful form of non-verbal communication, especially in a home.  And…especially in a bedroom!  The art that you choose to keep in the room of your house dedicated to sleep, rejuvenation and, yes, sex, can be very telling as to how you feel about relationships, your self and your emotional world.  I thought it would be fun today to look at some really cool art in various bedrooms and get a sense of how and what might be going on with the people who sleep there!? Like, above Jack Pierson’s “Lover” hands over the bed. Sweet and whimsical, maybe a more untraditional romantic or an intellectual couple’s bedroom?! !

SOLITARY ART. First of all, art that is solitary (images of just one person or object on their own… or one single color on a canvas…) is very telling if you are trying to forge or maintain a relationship.  “I am all about me” or “I am really in this alone” aren’t the best for creating intimate relationships.  We all have times where putting ourselves first is important, but if you display that in your bedroom you are putting yourself in a very tricky spot in creating a union. This bedroom above in artist/director Julian Schnabel’s house features a giant and imposing Picasso of a lone figure with great swagger. Can you see the powerful message it sends?

Now, there is a corollary to this solitary art which is intensely spiritual art or art that implies spiritual power.  Now, whatever you believe, if you put pictures of Gods, saints or any sort of mystical creature in your bedroom, you either relate yourself to their mythology or you believe yourself to be one with them.  Again, bravo for reaching beyond the material plane, but in your bedroom, do you want God watching over you? Does that create a great environment to have sex? Something to ponder…Insanely brilliant art persona and MOCA museum director Jeffrey Deitch’s bedroom in his Los Angeles estate features an Aaron Young over the bed that portrays an optical illusion of Jesus. (If you close  your eyes after staring at it, Jesus appears on the screen of your closed eyes) …

Art that does actually contain words speaks volumes about the person (or people) who occupy the bedroom.  That is the reason why I am utterly and completely fascinated by an image of Elton John’s bedroom. The Tracey Emin neon art over the bed screams in its intensity and fire and literally says.. “I know, I know, I know.”  I would love to hear what  Sir Elton feels about this piece personally.  Its a bold choice for a bedroom, as is the skull sculpture on the nightstand!

Then , of course, some bedrooms are so packed with art and deliberately (or otherwise) curated that the art begins to emote a sense of community and universality rather than an expressed desire for an intimate relationship.  Of course, I’m not judging, I’m just saying what I see!  So, here’s the uber-talented curator and man-about-art Aaron Rose’s bedroom filled with art and excitement that was shot for The Selby. Aaron Rose’s Selby photo shoot shows a home & bedroom packed with art in a truly exuberant way… Perhaps not the most intimate, but definitively connected to the space and invested in the artistic value of what is on the walls.

If you do want a relationship, what kind of art should you have in your bedroom?  I can’t say for sure because we all want something different, but most definitely you want to focus on a unity between objects, an intimacy…and display only stuff that you absolutely love and wish to wake up with every day.  So, headless people and war-zones and guns (even Warhol guns) and anything else combative is not for the bedroom… And, what is will be full of your personal brand of passion and the energy of what you want to burture and build in yourself and your love life.

Have fun!  xoxo Dana