A basement gallery can be a blank canvas. Lighting is essential for art to be highlighted properly. Use track lighting and floor up-lights to bring emphasis to the pieces that will be displayed. If you are going to create a blank canvas for gallery shows, the walls need to be monochromatic, i.e., the same color. Try white, black, gray or any other color, but paint it on every surface to create the idea of a gigantic blank canvas.
Another creative idea for a basement gallery is to cover your display walls and surfaces with materials from nature. Make your patrons feel as if they have stepped into an underground forest or desert by using materials such as wood paneling, barn wood, tree bark, branches, and leaves. Or, use sand-textured paint, driftwood and river stones as the backdrop for the art to be exhibited.
Color blocking is a technique in which you paint or use solid color fabric to create large blocks of color on the walls and display surfaces of your gallery. Look at the work of Piet Mondrian to see exquisite examples of color blocking. After you have painted the desired blocks onto the gallery walls, hang the artwork within these brilliant "frames" of color.