Christmas decoration

I met this woman once in the gallery who got me thinking about the line between art and commerce. We get a lot of artists coming in and coyly dance around the subject before they ask "how do I get my artwork into this place?". It's so obvious but we need to be patient and play out the routine.
She came to Oldham street and said she supplied artwork for new housing companies. 20 or 30 at a time, big bold splashes of colour done in no time at all. She said she sells them for pennies but would like to sell them for more and she could really churn them out. This was the the epitome of decorative art and to be honest made me cringe. A shameless sell out display of sub standard work with little or no thought applied to it except the aim for it to fill a wall, have the right colours and sell. Like an X Factor cover song, fatuous art like this has its place but not in a gallery like mooch.

I used to work for a large catalogue company who went through a huge change and a new CEO who gave us a big presentation at the Odeon cinema in the Printworks. This guy highlighted the products on sale that make a mankini seem like a great choice of beachwear. A sculpture of an elephant with a glass table on top came up onto the cinema screen which was greeted with giggles from everyone. The buyer I was sat next to sank into his seat, saying "but they are my best seller". It was truly crap.

Some stuff is rubbish to start with but also when something or someone starts becoming popular there is always a bit of a backlash against their popularity. They are accused of selling out and lose a bit of their credibility if they find out their parents are into them. I was in M&S last week and picked up a jumper, I was lying it against chest when a doddering pensioner came and picked up THE SAME JUMPER. We even made eye contact and he gave me a knowing nod. Mortified, I vowed to shop in places where this kind of person was not. With original art you realise you won't have this issue.

So I ask where should you draw the line in an art gallery? We see lots of art which is impressive and of good quality but its not the kind of thing people will want to buy. It feels bad especially when you know they have talent. People would just look at the work like they would a transvestite. Curious, but not really interested in being a part of it.
I guess the dividing line is when people look at the art and consider whether the work will fit in with the colour scheme of the room they are wanting to hang it in. Its not a problem if people look at work with a view to it fitting in. That makes sense but It shouldn't be the overriding factor.

Fine art should be created purely for their imaginative, aesthetic or intellectual content.
Collectors come into the gallery and people have bought art and then decided where it should go. It's one of the best moments of this job when someone completely and totally falls in love with a piece and buys it with absolutely no idea where it will be hung. To own a piece of art for love rather than its function is a beautiful thing.