Art Homecoming

It all started with pictures of white walls, during the pandemic. Louise Chignac and Cécile Ganansia, the two French founders of Canopy Collections, quickly recognised that people’s interest in meaningful art for their homes was growing, when Ganansia received numerous images of her contacts’ empty walls, all asking for art advice during lockdown. She turned to Chignac, also an art advisor and curator, and together they created Canopy Collections in June 2020, a pioneering art platform and gallery with a nomadic spirit. 

The principle is to advise and bring carefully selected artworks directly into clients’ homes, rather than occupy a permanent, physical gallery space. While this concept of a digital gallery was perceived as new, Chignac believes “Art is destined to live in the home, this is its very purpose. In fact, our approach is very analogue.” The team go into private residences, then source and hang works that respond to each buyer’s personal story. Online, the artwork images are never fabricated, instead capturing genuine installations in real homes.

With a regular programme of pop-up exhibitions at Cromwell Place and sometimes more secret locations, Canopy Collections’ model is clearly evolving. Yet their mission stays the same – to make art more accessible. Ganansia recalls how some clients previously felt intimidated by the art world. “It can feel very closed,” she says.  Canopy Collections is dedicated to opening up that circle both to emerging young artists as well as a new type of buyer that seeks a friendly, inclusive and more personal experience. Increasingly, they are also working with interior designers on bigger projects to complement and further personalise the scene setting of domestic spaces, from city townhouses and private offices to countryside estates. “For us, it’s about longevity and anchoring the joy of art into everyday life.”