“And let’s be blunt, an art gallery is a retail business. We can pretend it’s something else and that art is not a product, but it is.” Julie Baker, President of Julie Baker Fine Art (As quoted in THE ARTIST’S GUIDE by Jackie Battenfield)
Disclaimer: My rants in no way are directed to 100% of the galleries. There are some great galleries out there, and I love and appreciate them. The real gist of this article is to encourage artists to find another way.
The art world has changed a lot in the last five years. Artists don’t need galleries anymore, thanks to the internet and a lot of ingenuity on the part of other independent artists leading the way (like artist-rebel Hazel Dooney and Hugh MacLeod).
Three reasons why I encourage artists to bypass the fine-art gallery system: It’s very difficult to support your family by selling art through galleries. I get as mad as a mother bear when artists are taken advantage of. And I get downright belligerent when an organization tells an artist what and how to create art.
Though Drew Brophy and I have had some good experiences with galleries (like the Surf Gallery in Laguna Beach), we’ve had other art dealers tell Drew what to paint, we’ve had paintings “disappear” and we’ve been urged to sign onerous contracts that would be a really bad business move.
It’s the gallery system that takes the art out of art, under the guise of being a purist, when all they are really interested in is the sales of art. Now, I don’t see anything wrong with a retail store, I mean gallery, wanting to make money. Yes, there are many exceptions to this, but I’m not talking about the exceptions right now. The problem I have is the phony art snob which pretends to care about art when they really only care about the bottom line.
Call me crazy, call me commercial, go ahead and claim that I don’t know crap about art. But I’m of the hard-headed opinion that artists should actually get paid well for their work.
Nothing vexes me more than the so called “art experts” saying that artists shouldn’t expect to live off of their talent. I read this over and over again on fine art consultant’s blogs and in books. It’s these same people that DO get paid for their work in the arts (art dealers, gallerists, consultants) that are making these assertions. Why should THEY get paid but not the artist that’s actually creating that which makes these professionals their living? Do you see the irony here?
One popular consultants’ website gives a list of “Everything Your Mother Should have Told you About Being an Artist.” Number #5 on the list says “You will not be able to make a living off of the sale of your art.” This kills me.
Why would you pay for someone to consult you when you can’t earn a living doing what they are teaching you to do?
The truth is, you can make a living off of your art, but not if you follow the old fashioned gallery rules. Drew and I are living proof of it.
Many of the conversations I get into with gallery owners about the rules of art end up in a debate. One oxymoron that I often butt-up against is that art should be kept “pure” and sold in original form or with limited high-end reproductions.
Sure, this is good for the gallery, because they will sell more originals and they get to keep more moola in their pockets. But it’s not good for John-Pierre artiste who has a wife and 3 kids to feed.
It’s an artists’ gift to the world to allow art to be accessible to most everyone, even those who can’t afford an $8,000 original painting. And there’s an easy way to make it accessible – print it on useful items.
And therein lies my problem with the old fashioned gallery system. They don’t want their artists making the art available in forms other than original paintings, because that cuts into their sales. It’s all about the money. “But artists can’t be about the money.” The double standard makes me want to spit nails.
Drew and I teach Business of Art seminars at trade shows and art stores. It’s surprising to me that the most frequently asked question is “How do I get my art into galleries?” I cringe when I get that question. I want to scream “Don’t waste your time!”
But, being the professional that I am, instead I politely detail the standard steps to find your sacred place into the gallery system: put together a portfolio, proper artists’ statement and Bio. Win some meaningless awards, do some residency time and get into a few juried shows. Contact galleries that your artwork best fits in, and take rejection well when you are appropriately snubbed for not having a long enough achievement list on your resume.
Unless you’re already very well established, the gallery system might crush you.
First, getting into a GOOD gallery if your work isn’t guaranteed to sell will be difficult. It costs galleries a lot of money to run their business. They are retail store, after all. They have to be sure your art will sell before they allot wall space to you.
Second, be prepared to pay a 50% commission on each piece to the gallery for selling your art. This means that you’ll have to double your prices just to make it worth your while. (The galleries have to keep 50%. Their brick-and-mortar costs are extremely high.)
Third, be okay with having an art dealer tell you what to paint. Some will stuff your creative side by telling you that “sky-blue color palettes are working right now” or “landscapes are selling this year.” After all, they are in the business to make money. They need you to paint what will sell, not a creative masterpiece.
To be fair, I must add here that there are a few artists doing well with their art being sold through galleries, but that’s all relative to what it means to be “doing well.” Some have to work other jobs because they can’t earn a full time living selling original art. Or their wives are working full time and supplementing their income.
I know one very well known artist in New York City. Her paintings sell in some of the finest galleries. She’s kindly helped other artists by mentoring them. The irony is that she’s a part-time artist and a full-time secretary on Wall Street. Her art is her hobby, and her job is her profession. Nothing wrong with that, but it demonstrates that even a popular fine artist who has representation in many galleries cannot go full-time on fine art gallery income alone.
Many years ago we made the decision to cut back substantially on the amount of work we did with Drew’s art in galleries. We still do exhibits, but only those that are with a group of artist friends or overseas in exotic locations. Instead, we put our energy into art sales where we make a profit. This enables Drew’s art to support our entire family and for us to continue living the life of our dreams.
I’m feeling a little guilty about placing the gallery scene in a less than magical light. But this blog is about helping creative people to design the lifestyle of their dreams. And it’s not a dream lifestyle working a job you hate just so you can sometimes find time to paint for a gallery system that will pay you very little.
I want to give a different point of view to consider. I want artists to stop stressing and realize that having your art in a gallery isn’t that important. It’s not going to make or break your career goals (unless, of course, your goals involve galleries).
Sure, there are some benefits to being associated with a gallery. It gives your artwork credibility, it exposes you to new collectors and it brings you together with other artists. If you’re working out of your own home, it gives a public location to your artwork where you can send your buyers. If your work is a proven seller, your gallery will do the necessary marketing and sales work that so many artists despise.
For fine artists, the gallery system may be a necessary evil, particularly if they are relying solely on original art sales for their income.
But, if your art is accepted in the gallery system, expect to play by their rules. And there are many rules in that world; rules that could stifle your creativity and out-of-the box thinking.
I’ve always been a rebel, and I’ve never been one to join a “system” so maybe that’s why I bristle at the thought of following someone else’s guidelines. There should be no rules in art.
For artists who want to blaze their own path and make their own name for themselves and support their families with their art, there is a better way:
- Sell your art yourself. Sell it in many different formats other than original art.
- Develop a following and a mailing list and nurture it. Hold your own shows in the homes of friends, collectors, admirers.
- Screw the rules. Try different things.
- Concentrate on developing 1,000 fans which will sustain your art career far longer than any gallery can. Use the internet to generate new fans and sell to them.
- Rely on yourself. The reality is that no one really cares about your art career better than you do.
- Take full control of your future. If you don’t know how to, then get yourself educated and learn from others. Read books and blogs of artists who have done it.
- Invest in yourself.
Having your art in a gallery won’t hurt you, and if it’s a good relationship, it can supplement all the other things you are doing with your art career. But know that you won’t be able to depend on anyone else to make things happen for you. You’ve got to do that for yourself.
Now, go ahead and comment below, please. Let me have it!
Maria xxoo
Artists “need to be savvy entrepreneurs. But they are trying, often without much success, to follow a prescribed model of working solely with galleries and keeping their fingers crossed that one day that this tired formula will work. The problem is that 99.9% of the time, it doesn’t. And if it does, too many art galleries fold.” Artist Ann Rea, during interview with Artsy Shark on how Artists can have a Strategy for their Work.
