How to organise your first hanging: tools, heights and layout

Experienced dealers carry out this exercise intuitively after years of practice. For someone confronting it for the first time, practical questions crowd in. At what height should works be hung? What spacing should be observed? Which wall to start with? How to handle different formats? How to create a coherent visitor pathway? This guide answers these questions with precise figures and proven methods that you can apply from your very first exhibition.

01The 1.50-metre centre rule

The universal convention in the gallery and museum world is to place the centre of each work at 1.50 metres from the floor. This height, sometimes called the eye line, corresponds to the average eye height of an adult visitor standing. It allows comfortable reading of the work without the visitor needing to raise or lower their head significantly. The Centre Pompidou, the Palais de Tokyo and most major institutions apply this convention rigorously.

In practical terms, to calculate the position of the fixing point on the wall, proceed as follows. Measure the total height of the framed work. Divide this measurement by two to obtain the distance between the centre and the upper edge. Subtract this half-height from 1.50 metres: this gives you the distance between the upper edge of the work and the floor. Then measure the distance between the upper edge of the frame and the actual hanging point (the hook, taut wire or screw eye). Add this distance to the previous figure: this is the height at which you must place your wall fixture.

Let us take a concrete example. You are hanging a framed painting 80 centimetres tall. The half-height is 40 centimetres. The upper edge should be at 1.50 metres minus 40 centimetres, giving 1.10 metres from the floor. The hanging wire sits 5 centimetres below the upper edge of the frame. Your wall fixture must therefore be placed at 1.10 metres plus 5 centimetres, giving 1.15 metres from the floor. This calculation becomes automatic after a few hangings, but during your first exhibitions, take the time to verify it for each work.

This rule admits exceptions. Very large format works whose upper edge would reach the ceiling if the 1.50-metre centre rule were respected are lowered to maintain sufficient space at the top of the wall. Works intended to be seen from a distance (in a corridor or a large volume) may be raised. Gagosian, which has exceptional volumes in several of its spaces, adapts hanging height to the format and nature of each work while maintaining consistency within each room.

02Spacing between works

The spacing between two works hung side by side on the same wall is a parameter that profoundly influences the reading of the exhibition. Spacing that is too tight creates an impression of saturation and prevents each work from breathing. Spacing that is too wide creates a feeling of emptiness and dispersal. The generally accepted convention is a spacing of 15 to 30 centimetres between frames, measured edge to edge.

For a solo show by a single artist whose works are of uniform format, a regular spacing of 20 centimetres creates a harmonious visual rhythm. David Zwirner gallery, known for the rigour of its hangings, frequently uses fixed spacing that gives each exhibition a characteristic architectural clarity.

For a group show or for works of varied formats, spacing can be modulated according to the proportions of each work. A small work 30 centimetres wide benefits from more generous space around it (25 to 30 centimetres) so as not to be visually overwhelmed by its neighbours. A large work 2 metres wide can support tighter spacing (15 centimetres) because its own volume asserts its presence.

The calculation of work distribution on a wall is best done before drilling. Measure the total available wall width. Add up the widths of all the works you wish to place there. Subtract this total from the wall width. Divide the result by the number of intervals (number of works plus one, if you want equal space on each side). This calculation gives you the uniform spacing between each work and between the outermost works and the wall corners. If the result is less than 15 centimetres, you have too many works for this wall and must remove one or move it to another wall.

03Centring on the wall

Horizontal centring of works is a detail that immediately distinguishes an amateur hanging from a professional one. A single work on a wall must be perfectly centred. To find the wall centre, measure its total width and divide by two. Mark this point at the previously calculated fixing height. This will be the hanging point for a work whose fixing system is centred on the back.

For a group of works, centring concerns the entire group rather than each work individually. Calculate the total width of the group (sum of work widths plus the spacings between them). Centre this total width on the wall, then distribute the works from this centring point.

Galerie Marian Goodman is renowned for the precision of its hangings. Each exhibition is the subject of a hanging plan prepared in advance that defines the exact position of every work on every wall. This method, which you can adopt at your own scale with a simple dimensioned sketch on paper, avoids hazardous improvisations on installation day.

04Creating a visitor pathway

An exhibition is not merely a juxtaposition of works on walls. It is a path that the visitor follows, consciously or not, and whose logic must be conceived by the dealer. The first wall the visitor sees upon entering the gallery carries the opening work, the one that sets the tone for the exhibition and captures attention. This wall is often the one facing the entrance door or the one immediately to the right upon entering, because studies on visitor behaviour in museum spaces show that the majority of people spontaneously turn right when entering a venue.

The progression through the space can follow a chronological logic (the oldest works first, the most recent last), thematic logic (grouping works by subject or series) or formal logic (alternating formats, techniques or intensities). Galerie kamel mennour, whose spaces at 47 rue Saint-Andre-des-Arts in Paris form an enfilade layout, takes advantage of this configuration to build exhibitions whose intensity progresses from room to room.

The last wall, the one the visitor sees before leaving the gallery or when turning back toward the exit, is almost as important as the first. It carries the work that will leave the final impression, the one the visitor will remember. Experienced dealers often reserve this position for a strong work that concludes the exhibition's argument with conviction.

05The floor layout method

Before drilling a single hole, arrange the works on the floor, leaning against the walls for which they are intended. This method, used by the majority of dealers and curators, allows you to visualise relationships of size, colour and subject between works before committing anything. You can move works from one wall to another, try different arrangements and assess the overall effect without any material consequence.

Galerie Chantal Crousel practises this floor layout method with particular attention to the dialogues between works. Each exhibition is the result of spatial reflection that begins with this floor arrangement phase, often in the presence of the artist. The artist brings intimate knowledge of the works and the dealer their mastery of the space: this collaboration produces hangings whose quality surpasses what either could have achieved alone.

Take photographs of each configuration tested on the floor. Your phone will allow you to compare the different options with some distance, looking at the images on a screen rather than being immersed in the space. What seemed to work on site may reveal an imbalance when viewed in a photograph, and vice versa.

06Common mistakes in a first hanging

Certain mistakes recur systematically among beginner dealers. The first is wanting to show too much. The temptation to fill every available centimetre of wall is natural when you have many works and empty walls, but it results in a saturated hanging that tires the eye and devalues each work. Restraint is a curatorial quality: choosing not to show a work because the space does not allow it is an act of discernment, not a concession.

The second mistake is neglecting oblique views. The dealer stands in front of each wall to check the hanging but forgets to look at the walls in perspective, from the angle of a visitor moving through the space. A hanging that appears perfect from the front can reveal imbalances when viewed at an angle, from the entrance or from a corner of the room.

The third mistake is underestimating the impact of lighting on the hanging. The position of the spots determines the areas of light and shadow on the walls. A perfectly centred work that is poorly lit loses half its impact. Aim your spots after fixing the works, ensuring that each work receives uniform lighting without parasitic reflections.

07Documenting and learning from each hanging

After each exhibition, photograph your hanging from every angle and keep these images in your archives. Note what worked and what seemed unsatisfactory. Visitors, collectors and the artists themselves will give you feedback, sometimes explicit, sometimes implicit through their behaviour in the space, that will help you progress from one exhibition to the next.

The most accomplished dealers continue to learn and refine their hanging practice after decades in the profession. Daniel Templon, who opened his first gallery in 1966, has often recounted that each exhibition teaches him something new about how works inhabit a space. This humility before the exercise of hanging is the sign of a dealer who takes the profession seriously.

For Artedusa partner galleries, the quality of the hanging is directly reflected in the quality of the installation views that populate your online profile. A thoughtfully rigorous hanging produces photographs that catch the eye of collectors browsing the platform. By mastering the fundamentals described in this guide, you lay the foundations for a scenographic practice that will serve your gallery throughout your entire career.