Are You Sure Getting Into a Gallery is the Right Choice for You?
Monday March 23, 2009
"A gallery is not Valhalla. It's not as if, to realize your dreams, you simply must do whatever it takes to get into one."
-- New York Art Dealer Edward Winkleman, in his blog Baseline Issues for the "How to Get a Gallery" Question
When you've been dating someone for a while, people invariably start asking when you're going to get married. And once you're married they ask when (not if) you're going to have kids. And when the first kid arrives they ask when you're going to have another, and another, as if this standard path were the only one. Likewise, when you start painting people start talking about exhibitions and getting into a galleries. But that may not be the right choice for you and your painting.You need to consider how you define success. Is it by appreciation from outsiders of your art, or satisfaction with yourself (internal or external verification)? Is it by having a high monetary value attached to a piece, or by having someone moved to tears when encountering one of your paintings? Will you actually be able to part with a painting you're particularly pleased with, for money?
Comments
Funnily enough yesterday I went to eat in a restaurant where I hang some of my paintings just to keep them from standing in my way at home.
the owner came up to the table when it was pay the bill time and instead of taking money off me he handed me some , telling me a painting had been sold.
now it did feel strange that I had not been involved with this sale and dont know where it is now or who’s looking at it!
Strange, but not a problem though..I could easily get used to it.
I do sell alot of work but am always involved with it, it beeing a commission or work sold at an artfair, Ill talk to the buyer.
Times they are a changing though and I hope to be able to sell some more work without beeing involved this year..a good gallery would suit me fine. XXV
Selling a painting is like sending a child you’ve raised (I imagine) out into the world to make its way. The raising was a labor of love, fraught with angst, but the satisfaction of knowing the child/painting will have its own life ameliorates the pain of separation.
When you paint, be it to fulfill your passion, to express feelings/ideas, or just for the joy of it…would you not want others to see what you’ve accomplished. You may want to get your “message” out there, flaunt your skill… whatever the case you can only do that by displaying your work for all to see. An art gallery, whatever size gives you that opportunity.
I never would have thought of having my paintings displayed at a restaurant. What an interesting idea Varks! In my opinion, I would rather have my work in a restaurant, etc to allow many people to appreciate it, not just those people who go to art galleries.
In our small city, the gallery scene often seems like social climbing. An air of snobbery, class, and status discrimination appear to prevail making that venue somewhat less attractive to new and developing artists. Playing the status game is not for me; I like the idea of showing in restaurants, coffee houses, and at street shows or art fairs—less pressure to cater to the gallery crowd and to conform to their ideals.
Marion,
Painting is definately a self-satisfaction thing for me. Much like when I was asked when I was going to have children, the idea of selling and showing seemed like an invasion of privacy, and shocking at that. I had kids when I was ready, but selling happened for me before I was prepared at the pressure of well intentioned friends. This was their image of success. Looking back, I did it to please them. I wish I had waited until I was more informed and had developed better social and salesmanship skills.
My own definition of success is in little steps, hopefully improving with each painting. I need to know I can do it. Each step is my success. Sales are now something I can handle, sometimes it’s more like tolerate. My selling has come from the idea that not doing so would be selfish. I don’t like that trait in me, so I do it despite my inclinations. The money is nice, but it doesn’t cover the cost of the loss of privacy or the loss of my visual record of my growth in art. I’m glad that others enjoy the work, but it is a loss to me that I accept sometimes begrudgingly. I’m trying to get better with that.
tina
Gallery or private studio show, I am a professional artist. I both want to and must, sell my work. Where ever it might get seen, is where I will hang it. I have swallowed every bit of pride I have to make cold calls and drop in visits to galleries, gift stores, and every online site I can find. I have had some, not nearly enough, success and because I have no options, will continue to do this, until people start calling me to purchase my work. Needless to say, like everyone else reading this, I’d rather just paint, but that in itself is not the road to success. Dr. Robert
Gallery display is only one way to enter the art world. It is not nec. the only way to sell, and for the beginner, not nec. the best way.
Gallery sales are entirely done by brand, ea. name recognition.
It is far easier to sell as an unknown in a venue where people can see and really get to know and love the work.
I have done much better in coffee house and resturants as far as selling goes than any gallery exhibtition I have ever been in, and so have most of the people I know.
If you want to sell your work, you have to get it out there where people will see it, live with it and learn to love it. They just don’t in the average gallery.
I think galleries are necessary as they promote the artist much more than the artist can him/herself but they also are very discriminating. It isn’t easy to get them to take you on, they need to see potential in you. But having said that I wouldn’t like to let the gallery have exclusive selling rights to my paintings which is what some of them want.
I’ve only begun to sell my work, and the first one was hard to let go of. However, I also teach English, and one thing I try to impress on my students is that it’s hard to be a writer without a reader. If you are writing in isolation, you are losing part of the joy of sharing. I think it’s the same thing with art, at least for me. I do it mainly for my own satisfaction, but if I’m not sharing it, it’s like painting or writing in a vacuum. Part of my learning process, too, my growth, depends on sharing my work in a community.
If art is your profession, then selling your work is clearly necessary. I have sold from both coffee shops and through galleries, and am grateful for the support that galleries offer. I simply don’t have enough wall- or storage space for the work I have produced. I find that keeping a virtual catalogue of my work makes all the difference.My next step is to appoint an agent to take the admin out of my way.
BTW, I agree with Shelley. In the interests of sharing and community and growth, I’d rather have my work displayed where more people will see it, whether it sells or not. I love Vark’s idea, too, and I’m beginning to think it’s time to get out there and give it a try. Thanks, Vark!
I have no children, what has this got to do with painting you may ask…well, having children carries on your lifeline, your family tree, your family is spread out into the world… selling a painting to someone is the same thing for me…it is like having my lifeline carried on through the years. The painting may end up at a car boot sale, but someone is going to have it somehwere and that painting is a part of me…;-))
Restaurants, bookstores, furniture shops, coffee shops – I tried all these (other than galleries) possibilities. The most important thing is to trust the owner of store/restaurant and it’s better for you to offer 20-30% commission – this way you’ll trust that the person will be interested in selling your art. BTW, I’ve had 1-month exhibit in the local restaurant without any sell. My lesson: the exhibit at such place should be much longer then 1 month; if the owner does not take commission – nothing will be sold with a great probability!
Where do you want to go with your art? That should be your defining question, along with the answer. If you want to succeed and have ambition in the art world, where better to be than in a serious gallery with a serious relationship? It takes determination and trial and error to find the right ones, but well worth the effort. IT might even take an ArtExpo or 2 to find the right ones, or have them find you. If you are a hobby artist, restaurants and coffee shops are great.
I have my first solo exhibition on at the moment in a really good cafe that has a reputation for supporting artists and showing art in a professional way. I had previously shown work in an exhibition where many different local artists participated and this was a very non-threatening introduction. The solo expo is kind of different and on the whole I think it’s a good experience for me. I had felt very protective and possessive of the art – didn’t want to let it go, but seeing it hanging in a different place all on its own seems to have distanced me from it.I’d certainly like to sell some but I don’t seem to be that bothered about whether anyone ‘likes’ it or not. I’ve learnt a lot that will help me grow as an artist – I feel less attached to these pieces, more analytical, and as if I can move on to other subjects and ways of painting. I like the connection between ‘writer’ and ‘reader’ that someone else talks about – I feel more like a ‘working’ artist now. Having said that, I won’t rush into another exhibition. I’d like to feel more prepared and work more slowly towards it – some of the work was rushed, I had a very heavy workload in my ‘day job’ and got quite stressed. I think exhibiting in some way or other is simply part of an artist’s job.