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Choosing a Wall Art Hanging System

HOW TO SELECT THE BEST WALL ART HANGING SYSTEM

Knowing how to choose the best hanging system is important when you hang a photo print, picture, painting, or any style of wall art. Whether you plan to hang a single artwork, create a home gallery wall, or decorate an entire art gallery, you will benefit from choosing the right hanging system. What are the advantages and disadvantages of the different hanging systems? Which one is right for you and your project? The frame structure of your art piece will influence how much choice you have. Nevertheless, you always have a choice and it is important to make the right one.

CABLES & RAIL - WALL ART HANGING SYSTEM

Image source: picturehangingsystems.com

This wall art hanging system is designed with two main hardware components. First, it has a metal (most commonly aluminum) rail, which is mounted directly on the wall. Second, it comes with steel cables, which suspended the artwork from the rail. Typically the top end of the cable hooks easily on the rail and can slide left and right for quick positioning. The bottom end of each cable is outfitted with a sliding hook, which connects to the art piece itself. The hooks are designed to easily slide up and down the cable for easy vertical adjustment. They have a locking mechanism, which can be released with the push of a button. This allows for the ability to position the wall art exactly where you want it.

Pros

  • Lots of flexibility on wall art positioning. First, because the cables slide effortlessly across the rail, you can position your art piece where you want it horizontally. Second, since the hooks can move up and down the cable, you have lots of flexibility on the vertical position of the picture.

  • Great for a gallery wall where the art changes often. Since this hanging system allows for much flexibility on art positioning, it works well on a gallery wall, because of the convenience to change images every so often, as is the case in an art gallery. The versatility of this system, both horizontally and vertically allows you to accommodate almost any scenario, number of images, and image size.

  • Gives you a gallery style feel. This is the kind of a hanging system you will often see in a museum or art gallery. If you are looking to create a museum feel, the rail and cables system may work well.

  • Can accommodate both a single and multiple layers of images. Again, the versatility of this hanging system gives you a ton of flexibility, regardless of whether you want a single row of art pieces, or you want to create a mosaic on the wall. Additionally, cable lengths vary, which allows you to suspend one or more artworks on a single set.

Cons

  • Can be more expensive. This may be one of the more expensive options when it comes to hanging wall art.

  • Cables remain visible. If you are trying to create a clean, minimalist look on your wall the steel cables may be distracting and detract from that look.

  • Can be too much hardware for a single image. If you are using this hanging system for just a single wall art piece, it may be an excessive solution and more hassle than it is worth.

When to Choose

  • When the goal is to create a gallery wall, whether at home or in an actual art gallery.

  • When you plan to hang multiple prints on a wall instead of a single one.

  • When you want to create a museum/gallery feel.

  • When you plan to swap the art images every now and again.
Steep rock wall mountain islands with lots of green grass - Faroe Islands - Gintchin Fine Art
Foroya

Gintchin Fine Art | Limited Edition Print

DIRECT MOUNT - WALL ART HANGING SYSTEM

Image source: picturehangsolutions.com

This is the most common type of wall art hanging system in home settings, but less common in art galleries. In this case the art piece itself has some sort of hanging hardware on its back, such as tiny holes, a metal plate, or d-rings, upon which it is meant to be suspended. This hardware is directly hung on a screw, nail, cable or hook secured into the wall. This type of a hanging system is usually used for small frames. Most wall art and/or frames, available at a local craft store, typically come equipped with such hanging hardware out of the box.

Pros

  • It is a well known hanging mechanism and is pretty simple. Also, in order to mount such a picture on the wall, you only need to fasten one or two anchors on the wall and you are done.

  • Clean aesthetic look – no hanging hardware components are visible after the art is on the wall. This creates a distraction free wall and helps the art stand out.

Cons

  • Does not work well for art that will change. This is because once the wall anchors are fixed in the wall, it only fits that particular artwork. meaning, if you want to exchange the art with another, after it has been mounted to the wall, you will have to remove the original anchors and secure new ones. Unless the new picture is the exact same type and size.

  • Requires the most skills in order to hang properly. This is so, because the wall anchors need to be precisely fastened to the wall. In other words, the two wall anchors need to be at an exact distance from each other, in order to match the hardware on the back of the frame. In addition, they have to be perfectly aligned horizontally. Otherwise you may not be able to hang the image, or it may hang slanted to one side.

  • If you are mounting a heavier wall art piece, you may need to find the wall studs because drywall anchors may not be enough. This adds an additional complexity to the entire mounting process.

When to Choose

  • When hanging a single art piece on your wall.

  • When the artwork is not heavy and does not require a heavy duty hanging system.

  • When you plan to keep the picture on the wall for a long time and you do not plan to regularly exchange it with other artwork.
A remote tiny village on the edge of a steep coast right next to the ocean - Faroe Islands - Gintchin Fine Art
Far and Away

Gintchin Fine Art | Limited Edition Print

FRAME CABLE - WALL ART HANGING SYSTEM

Image source: wikihow.com

This type of a wall art hanging system contains just one hardware piece. It uses a single steel cable mounted directly to the back side of the art’s frame. The cable is secured horizontally and is used to suspend the entire picture from a single wall anchor.

Pros

  • This is the easiest way to hang an artwork. You need just one wall anchor (screw, nail, hook, etc.)

  • Easy to balance horizontally because of the single wall anchor. Once the image is hung on the wall you can easily adjust its level position by simply sliding it left or right.

  • Aesthetic look – no hanging hardware components are visible after the art is on the wall. However, if the cable is secured near the top of the frame and/or is very long, it will be visible above the picture.

Cons

  • Does not work well for multiple artworks that will change often. This type of a hanging system allows you to easily remove the wall art from the wall and hang a new one on the same anchor. However, because of the fixed position of the anchor you may not be able to accommodate the regular exchange of multiple pictures on a wall, unless they are of the same size and have the same cable positioning on the back of the frame.

  • Can create a slight forward tilt of the picture. Depending on the cable length and its position on the art frame, this hanging system may cause the wall art to slightly lean forward. This may not be a problem but if it is important to you that the art is firmly against the wall, it may bother you.

  • Can warp a wood frame. When a large, wood frame wall art is hung using this system, it can get warped over time. The reason for this is that the cable pulls the frame at an angle under its weight. Warping will most likely not appear on small art pieces, or larger ones with metal frames/construction. However, you will be taking a risk using this hanging system on large, wood frame artworks.

When to Choose

  • When you plan to keep the artwork on the wall for a long time.

  • When hanging a single art image.

  • When the art piece is small or made with a metal frame/construction.
Beautiful tall lush mountains with steep shores leading into the ocean - Faroe Islands - Gintchin Fine Art
Faroese Charm

Gintchin Fine Art | Limited Edition Print

FRENCH CLEAT - WALL ART HANGING SYSTEM

Image source: precisionboard.com

The french cleat hanging system contains two hardware pieces that are mirror images of each other. They are usually rails which are specially designed to lock together. Most often the rails are made of metal or wood. One is mounted on the wall and the other is mounted on the picture itself. Therefore, the one on the wall serves as the hanging anchor, and the one on the art allows for the actual hanging of the artwork.

Pros

  • Works well in settings where the art will change, because of how easy it is to take it off the wall and put another in its place.

  • Easy horizontal positioning and more forgiving when mounting. Since the french cleat is a rail system it allows for easy sliding left and right, to a degree. That allows you to be more precise if you are trying to center it on a wall, or above a piece of furniture.

  • Aesthetic look is clean. Because the rails themselves are shorter than the width of the art, no hanging hardware components are visible after it is hung on the wall.

  • Allows for the hanging of heavier wall art. French cleat hanging systems come in various forms and shapes, many of which are heavy duty. This would allow you to safely hang a heavy artwork. In addition, french cleat rails have multiple anchor holes, which makes it easier to use the wall studs, if that is necessary.

Cons

  • Can be difficult to use if your artwork did not come with it. Typically you will not have to install a cleat system on the back of a frame, however. Most times it is manufactured that way. On the other hand, if that was not the case and you want to use a cleat system, it may be challenging to fasten the piece that mounts on the back of the art.

  • May not be ideal for multiple images on the same wall, which will regularly change, such as an art gallery. Although you do get some horizontal positioning flexibility with the french cleat system, they are fixed wall anchors. That means you will not be able to easily replace the wall art with new pictures of varying sizes. NOTE: This is solved with the hanging system mentioned below – Rail & Cleat.

When to Choose

  • When hanging a single wall art piece.

  • When hanging heavy wall art, a durable hanging system is necessary.
A tiny house structure in the middle of a wildflower hill which looks like the house of Frodo - Faroe Islands - Gintchin Fine Art
Frodo’s House

Gintchin Fine Art | Limited Edition Print

RAIL & CLEAT - WALL ART HANGING SYSTEM

A white gallery wall with 3 wall art prints of the Faroe Islands - Gintchin Fine Art

This is a picture hanging system that you would see on the walls of some galleries. It basically is the french cleat hanging system, but designed for multiple images in a single row. In this case a long rail is mounted horizontally across an entire gallery wall. Pictures are then hung in a horizontal line, where the mid section of each is at the same vertical level, regardless of size. Additionally, this hanging system does not allow the back of the art to be firmly against the wall and gives it a floating look.

Pros

  • Great for triptychs – Ensures a perfect alignment for horizontal triptychs.
  • Great for a gallery – Allows for easy changing of the wall art, which is common for an art gallery. Also, if the gallery is equipped with a private viewing room this makes it very easy to present any wall art to a potential collector buyer.
  • Ideal for large format wall art – This hanging system is very sturdy and can securely accommodate larger and heavier pictures and prints.
  • Can work well for changing images of various sizes. Again, a gallery will regularly display changing artworks of various sizes. Having a single rail across the entire wall allows for easy combinations of various size wall art.

Cons

  • Aesthetics – A visible rail across the wall can be distracting to some. However, this can be somewhat mitigated by painting it the same color as the wall.

  • In order to work the rail attached to the artwork has to be flush with the back side of the art. Therefore, modifications may be required, depending on the art’s structure/frame.

When to Choose

  • When you want a single row of images which would be horizontally aligned.

  • When creating a gallery wall.

  • When you want an easy way to exchange wall art of various sizes.

  • When you can ensure that the piece on the back of the wall art frame is flush with it and not sunken inside the frame.

  • When you want to hang large and heavy wall art.
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Fine Art Consultation

Gintchin Fine Art offers a 30 minute no-obligation complimentary art consultation. Having designed and built gallery walls in home, office, corporate, and art gallery interiors I can help you make the right choice. If you need advice on choosing the right photograph, print size, print medium, frame option, hanging system, etc. I can help. Take advantage of my experience and skills, and request your no-pressure art consulting session today.

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Gintchin Fine Art offers exclusive limited edition fine art photography by Lazar Gintchin, a nature and landscape photographer specializing in large format size prints. Each image in Gintchin’s portfolio is a unique and limited edition print. The gallery includes high-quality wall art prints in acrylic and metal mediums, providing a luxurious fine art presentation. With a diverse range of genres to choose from, art enthusiasts can curate a collection that reflects their aesthetic preferences.

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