You love art. You find yourself looking through exhibition listings online or in your local newspaper to discover the latest shows in your area. You can’t wait to go to the museum to see that painting or sculpture you’ve been dying to see in person. You’ve even purchasing tickets to art fairs to see what artist galleries are showing. Perhaps you’re looking to decorate your home with artwork or you’ve dreamed of living with works by your favorite artists. Are you interested in starting an art collection? Even if you’re passionate about art, there’s a large difference between being an enthusiast and a collector, but where do you start?

Collect What You Love

The key to art collecting is acquiring pieces that you genuinely love; investing in artists who you admire and whose work speak to you on a personal level.

Figure Out Your Goals

Are you collecting art as an investment? Is it because you want to have something nice to hang on your walls? Is it to impress your friends? Or is it because you want to own something that actually moves you? Once you’re aware of your goals behind collecting art, assess the best ways to achieve your goals. If you have the budget, hire an art advisor who can share their expertise with you and consult on the best strategies with which to build your art collection.

Educate Yourself

Learn about art. Learn about the art market. Art can be acquired through auctions, galleries, private dealers, and direct-to-consumer platforms like LITO. Figure out the best method to acquire art for your collection. Go to exhibitions at galleries, museums, and foundations. Visit art fairs and auctions. Schedule stops to see art when you travel. Check out art-related Instagram accounts. Read the art trade publications. Read artists’ biographies and monographs. Research the going prices. Ask questions.

Decide on How Much of a Budget You’d Like to Dedicate to Art

The most important thing is to decide how much of a budget you’d like to dedicate to collecting art. Whether it’s $1,000 or $1 million, there is something for everybody at every price point. Once you know your budget, figure out what artists fit within that.

How to Start Your Art Collection With LITO

Collecting art can be daunting. It’s understandable if you want to start small but have big ambitions. That’s where LITO comes in. LITO provides a way to acquire works by top-tier artists without the barriers and limitations that come with purchasing art from blue-chip galleries. Blue-chip galleries only sell works to collectors with whom they already have existing relationships, so it’s not as simple as walking in and selecting something to buy straight from the gallery wall. With LITO, you can start collecting blue-chip art at a lower price point.

LITO’s Experts Curate Top-Tier, Blue-Chip Artists

LITO hired a team of experts, curators and art-world insiders, to curate a special selection of work of artists with guaranteed value on the secondary markets, so you know that you’re investing in something that will likely appreciate in value over the years.

Collect Blue-Chip Artists at a Fraction of the Price

With LITO you don’t have to spend a small fortune to collect works by an artist that has been exhibited at a major museum or gallery or featured in private collections of the wealthy and famous. Because it’s an edition, it’s only a fraction of what you would spend to acquire a work on the primary market. So far, LITO has worked with Douglas Gordon, Erwin Wurm, Collin Sekajugo, Wang Guangle, Jia Alli, Peter Halley, and Alexandre Arrechea.

Feel Secure Knowing That Each LITO Is Authentic

LITO allows you to feel secure in your purchase because each edition is made in direct collaboration with the artist, who hand signs and numbers every edition, so you have an edition with an authentic signature. You don’t have to worry about whether or not the piece is authentic or if its provenance is accurate.

The Feel and Look of an Original for the Price of a Print Edition

A LITO edition lands somewhere between the original artwork and a traditional edition for the price of a 2D print. Feel secure that you’re acquiring an artwork that looks like an original, achieving the same texture, look, and feel at the lower cost of a print. It’s like you’re getting a steep discount on an original piece.

LITO’s Proprietary Technology Allows for the Same Depth and Feel of the Unique

Traditionally, editions are produced with a printing press, and therefore come out two-dimensional and flat. You may see the layers of color if it’s a print, but you’ll lose the texture and materiality of the work. A LITO edition is as close as you can get to owning a unique work of art for a fraction of the cost.