André Brocatus was here...

In 2007 I was an immediate fan of 20x200, even before it was launched. Jen had me at the announcement of a new concept for affordable art. I signed up to be notified when it launched, whatever it was. I was an art student, and a new media designer and loved everything that combined the two. And I was in awe, because I has always dreamt of starting an art gallery, and here someone was making that a reality, on her own terms in a completely original way.

After launch I nagged her about shipping to the Netherlands and when they did I bought several editions. I am partial to the special Jason Polan editions, though my favorite is Untitled (300 x 404) by Greg Allen (for obvious reasons I think?).

When the newsletter with the Globe by Rachel Hulin came along, I was mesmerised by the luminous globe on the screen. I did not necessarily want the print, I wanted that image on my computer screen so I could marvel at the luminance of the earth. I searched 20x200 for the highest resolution picture, but it was not enough, I even e-mailed Jen about it asking if she could give it to me, sell it to me.

Later that desire for a digital image turned into the realisation that there as a need for an art gallery selling digital editions. I have a background in webdesign and digital art, and I decided to make my dream of starting an art gallery a reality, by playing on my strengths and to build a digital gallery myself, selling digital art, to be enjoyed digitally.

After two years of work in-between client work The File Arts has launched a month ago. And there is a lot of inspiration in it from 20x200, from the eclectic range of art and artists, the mixture of art and photography, and the working with editions. Jen herself was a great inspiration to push on and make this a reality; her stories of entrepreneurship and living and working from a love of art pushed me on.

I believe I took the same approach to loving the art, giving collectors the opportunity to afford the art and to really connect with the art, and yet create a gallery completely my own; I love the fact that artists have agreed to sell their work for ‘pay what you want’. Every edition includes the source files for the work, as well as a PDF with background information. When you buy an edition from The File Arts you get the whole work, the biggest possible version of the work, background on the artist, and more.

Now a dream is to actually feature the 20x200 editions in The File Arts that I always wanted to experience in their digital format. Starting with Globe by Rachel Hulin.

Jen; congratulations with 5 years 20x200! And thank you for the inspiration! (And let me know what we can do to get Globe glowing on screens worldwide…).