Synaesthetic Picture Frame Design

one of the things that separates my frame design from a traditional "brick and mortar" frame shop is the fully custom work I do. to reproduce the effect below would cost 3 to 4 times what I charged my customer...and frankly I dont know of a single high end shop that would do it at any price. to leave the moulding as it came from the manufacturer would have been bland and underwhelming...

i like how this piece came out. rather than select one particular color in the art to highlight and feature in the frame design, we elected to retain the balance by going with a white on white, which contrasts nicely with the deep and saturated colors in the art. while appearing at first glance to be very minimalist, there are still some subtle elements which complement and echo the visual rhythm present in the art...for example the mat is a double thick 8 ply, chosen to echo the width of the subway lines. the proportions of the frame (especially the height of the rabbet) and mat width are meant to recall Manhattan island rising up from out of surrounding rivers...

do you think it looks better with its current frame, or do you feel the other potential frame suits it better? personally i think they both have qualities that add or feature different elements...if i were to design a frame for it completely from scratch i would incorporate elements from both. the current frame darkens the painting, but the forms while not specifically related to the symbolism of the animals does evoke the shape of the animal faces. the brighter frame is perhaps too bright and attempts to directly reference the symbolic meaning of the painting, but it may not be clear to those not versed in the symbolism of the day. either way the psychology at play in frame design is on full display here and worth exploring for any artist or art lover

pretty cool idear imo