State of the Art: How Minted and The Frame Make Artwork More Accessible to All

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa – 15 June 2022 – Since the launch of The Frame in 2017, Samsung Electronics has strived to make artwork more attainable for all. The Frame Art Store allows for extraordinary, one-of-a-kind art selections to be accessible to consumers from the comfort of their own homes. Iconic institutions, art collectives and independent artists alike have all contributed to the Art Store’s ever-expanding selection, allowing users to enjoy more than 1,600 works of art suited to their unique styles and tastes.

The Art Store’s growing popularity has also provided rising artists a platform for their work to be seen by millions of art enthusiasts and design lovers worldwide. In particular, the Minted X Samsung The Frame partnership has allowed independent artists from more than 100 countries to have their work displayed alongside iconic works from renowned artists and institutions. Samsung Newsroom sat down with Mariam Naficy, Founder, co-CEO and Chairman of Minted, about the Minted x Samsung The Frame partnership and how this technology empowers artists with more opportunities.

Q: Can you tell us more about how technology enables you to carry out your mission to help new artists and make art more accessible?

It can be challenging for new artists to reach a large audience in the art world. Our mission has always been to showcase the best in independent design to consumers everywhere, regardless of an artist’s background.

For instance, Minted holds open art and design challenges that allow anyone in the world to submit their art or design. Our customers vote for their favourite submissions, and Minted’s proprietary algorithms parse through millions of these votes to determine the winning designs. This crowdsourcing process champions inclusivity while bringing fresh and trendy designs to market. Together with The Frame and the Art Store, we are proud to create a pathway for independent artists to display their work digitally in millions of homes. Independent artists to display their work digitally in millions of homes.

▲ Mariam Naficy, Founder, co-CEO and Chairman of Minted

Q: What made you decide to collaborate with the Art Store?

The Art Store shares Minted’s commitment to helping consumers discover and support artists. Samsung has curated incredible art, including works from prestigious museums around the world. We’re honoured to see art from Minted artists in the same digital gallery as the classic or traditional masterpieces. By bringing the art of up-and-coming and emerging artists into peoples’ homes, Samsung is fostering inclusivity and accessibility, which are two values that are important to Minted.

Q: Can you share with us an artist success story that was made possible with Minted?

All the artists who have been featured in the Art Store have such diverse backgrounds, career paths and personal stories. For example, Bethania Lima, a Brazilian surface designer living in Uruguay, has grown her business through Minted — and has had the opportunity to bring her work into even more homes worldwide through our partnership with the Art Store.

Q: What are some advantages of displaying art on The Frame vs more typical ways of accessing art such as visiting art galleries or exhibitions?

In many homes, the television is in a room that serves as a gathering place, and bringing art into your home is a wonderful way to share the beauty of design with friends and family. Displaying unique art on The Frame turns an everyday living space into your own dynamic gallery that can be enjoyed from the comfort of your home with the people you love.

The Art Store’s audience has continued to grow, which has led to larger earnings opportunities and greater success for featured artists. We also love the curated, thematic lists that help people discover art in the Art Store.

Q: How has your own work evolved since you first partnered with Samsung?

Minted’s ongoing design competitions ensure that we always have the latest in art and design, and we’re very excited to have refreshed the Minted Art collection for the Art Store this year. It’s the first major refresh of our assortment since we launched, which is very exciting. Our new collection features a diverse group of artists and new art trends.

Q: What pieces would you recommend for users to enjoy through The Frame’s Art Mode?

“Everything Changes”, Fernanda Martinez

• Fernanda Martinez is an Oakland, California-based artist and founder of La Tinta Art. She explores the subject’s relation with the environment through her abstract paintings and murals incorporating natural elements as themes. With an experimental and intuitive approach to her work, her pieces are unique statements that represent feelings of connection, expansion and growth. In particular, Martinez’s artwork “Everything Changes” was inspired by a sunny day in the city. Combining the yellows and browns from city buildings with vibrant golds, oranges and blues creates a unique and modern composition.

“Festooned”, Brandy Brown

• Brandy Brown is the creative director of Marabou Design. As a wife and mother, she crafts with the idea of her modern family and their extraordinary friends in mind. Her background is in graphic arts, and she believes that function and clean design go hand in hand. Much like her personality, her aesthetic is described as both playful and smart. In her piece “Festooned”, Brown wanted to depict the serenity of a BIPOC¹woman holding a lush arrangement of florals. Just as flowers come in many varieties and colours, Brown wanted to capture the vast spectrum of femininity through her digital art.

“Linear Abstract”, Raven Erebus

• Raven Erebus is a Silicon Valley-based artist who worked as a software engineer before turning to art full time when her health declined. Erebus’s work discovers the magic in the everyday world around us and is often inspired by her immediate environments, as she has a chronic disability. Erebus explains that her simple pen and ink drawings, like “A Long Ray Around”, consist of interlocking lines inspired by the shapes found in nature. The lines create pathways, rays and arches resulting in a soothing minimalist design that is perfect for modern decor.

To see the latest crowdsourced art pieces from the Minted x Samsung partnership, head to the Art Store on The Frame.

¹ BIPOC stands for Black, Indigenous and people of colour.