Artsicle Website Launches "Try Before You Buy" Contemporary Art Gallery

Written by Pauline Pournelle Wednesday, 27 July 2011 15:27

New York, NY - Artsicle is a new virtual contemporary art gallery that allows buyers to rent artworks, before buying them, or returning them if they don't match the decor. They provide invitation-only access to some of New York’s top emerging artists, adding selected pieces to a collection that can be browsed on-line. With Artsicle, For $50 a month, art lovers can choose a painting, sculpture or print they like from the collections of 30 emerging and more established artists, hang it in their homes and decide whether they like it or not. If they do, they can purchase the art, prices range from $500 to $5,000. If they don't, they can send it back or rent another one. Artsicle believe in supporting today’s artists today, and helping them to grow their careers. All of their artists are hand-selected for their talent and unique style in New York’s ever changing art scene. Collecting their work allows you to support these talented individuals and own a piece of tomorrow’s art history. Alexis Tryon says that so far about 90% of customers are renting and 10% are buying the art immediately, with 20% of renters deciding to purchase the piece within the first month of living with it.

Where would you go to buy original art that you could afford? This was the question that followed Scott Carleton and Alexis Tryon, tired of blank walls and mass-produced prints, as they set out across New York to start collecting. Unfriendly gallery encounters and overwhelming online marketplaces left them empty handed, but with an idea. What if you could find work by today’s emerging artists in one, curated place online? This work was previously only available to the well connected who ventured directly to artists’ galleries with cash in hand. Alexis and Scott set out to build Artsicle so that everyone could have access to more of the amazing art being created everyday.





Alexis tryon is the co-founder and CEO of Artsicle and the site’s connector guru – finding collectors and artists wherever she can. She’s also at the other end of customer service calls and organizes their marketing efforts. Prior to founding Artsicle, Alexis developed a love for contemporary art through her work with the Institute of Contemporary Art in Philadelphia. At the ICA she student-curated a show, Crimes of Omission, and worked with web marketing. After leaving Philadelphia for NYC, Alexis worked for American Express where she developed a deep passion for customer service and hospitality. Artsicle has allowed Alexis to combine these passions – sharing great, contemporary art with best-in-class service. She holds a B.A. in Art History & Communication Studies from the University of Pennsylvania. Scott Carleton is the co-founder and CTO of Artsicle, and their IT guy. Prior to founding Artsicle, Scott was a nuclear engineer for Westinghouse in Pittsburgh. He simultaneously applied his creative skills to found Breakout Developments, where he designed a modern-mix tape for iPods. Scott next turned to web development, joining the SpeakerText team while teaching himself Ruby on Rails. It was official – he had the tech startup bug. Shortly after, Scott left his job with Westinghouse to develop Artsicle fulltime. The rest is history. He holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University. Visit the website at ... http://www.artsicle.com

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