New Samsung “The Frame” TV Takes Aboriginal Art To The World
Sarrita King is the only Australian artist represented in the art collection released as part of the new Samsung The Frame television. This television turns into a high-quality digital art display when not in use. The Frame includes access to 100 pieces of art, curated from 37 international artists and designers. The TV has already attracted an award for the ‘Best of Innovation’. Sarrita talks here about how her art came to be included in the Samsung artwork collection and what it felt like to see her paintings in this new digital format.
We've worked in the industry for quite a while now. We have management and also a very good gallery base. We worked with a woman many years ago in Sydney. She has since relocated back to England.
Samsung were releasing their new The Frame TV which includes an art collection which can be viewed when the TV is in Art Mode. They began looking for artists to be included in their digital gallery. They got in touch with our contact in England because she'd worked with artists in Australia. Samsung asked if there were any artists that she would recommend.
We were really lucky that she recommended us. I think it was one of those things all about timing. It helped that we've been working with our manager Keith for so long. He was able to see the opportunity and respond quickly. He presented a set of artworks that were available.
Samsung viewed those artworks and selected two of my pieces. They happened to be both from my Lightning series. They look very different from each other because they were painted ten years apart. These digital artworks will be sold with every "The Frame" TV across the world. I'm the only Australian artist included. Initially, I didn't realise it was a big deal until it gradually dawned on me, wow this is really something.
That's the beauty of having the business side taken care of by somebody else. I get to focus on the art and then when I realised what was happening, I appreciated that it's a great step in our journey. I think that's where society is headed. The Samsung TV project is another platform to share our story and get the beauty of Aboriginal art out there. I'm proud to be a part of that project and feel so grateful for the good timing and the good connections that we've built up over the years. I feel lucky to have been put forward and then to be selected.
I have seen the Samsung TVs and what my art looks like on them. It's beautiful. I think what they've done is incredibly clever, it's a great representation of my art. It is just beautiful and so correct. The technology is there, but when you look at the artwork, it has that amazing crispness of an original artwork. It also responds to the light in the room, so it displays the art at the best possible setting.
For me, it's really exciting to see it, not just being displayed, but displayed at such a high quality and given the respect it deserves. There'd be some people out there thinking it's probably not the place for art, but when you look at how they've preserved the image and see it displayed at its highest quality, I just don't think you can second-guess their intentions. It is so good.
I can imagine every renovation show will include one of these TVs from now on. Everyone will want to have one. It's just seamless living. It creates a room that just doesn't have the feel of a big grey TV taking up space there.
I think people are proud of their TVs. They're probably not as proud of how they look in a room when they are turned off. They don't go with décor. This new TV is just unbelievable.
