Help Desk is where I answer your queries about making, exhibiting, finding, marketing, buying, selling — or any other activity related to — contemporary art. All submissions are strictly confidential and become the property of Daily Serving. Email helpdesk@dailyserving.com with your dilemma.
Happy New Year! For 2013, Help Desk is going to be published every other week to make time for my other art adventures. But there are always ideas I want to share that don’t require a whole column, so now Help Desk spreads the love on Twitter: @ArtHelpDesk.
When is an artist ready to approach galleries? I’ve been exhibiting my art for about 5 years with a couple decent solo shows and a few big sales. It’s not an extensive track record, but I’m dedicated and need to increase sales if I want to keep making art (I do!). I keep thinking I’m “almost” ready and don’t want to waste my time or the gallerists’ or risk making a poor first impression with them by jumping the gun. I’ve read different advice in books but still feel unsure about this important step.
Nice spin on an old favorite! Usually the query is about how to find a gallery, but equally weighty is the question of when. Begin soliciting galleries before you’re ready and you’re likely to receive rejection after rejection as you waste your time on administrative tasks instead of making artwork. You’re right to think about the initial impression you make on a gallerist, too, since you risk being labeled a rank amateur. On the other hand, if you and your work are ready to start seeking representation, there’s no reason to hang back shyly. You’re unlikely to be discovered à la Lana Turner at the soda fountain — you need to get your work out there in front of people.
So how do you know when you’re ready? It’s going to come down to the work’s quality, your determination, and — for some galleries — your resume. Let’s start with the work: you will have a better response from gallerists if you present a body of high quality work that feels cohesive. A body of work doesn’t have to look all the same (perhaps your studio practice has been dedicated to investigating different material forms of a particular concept, for example), but the individual pieces should have some clear commonalities. Quality is subjective and therefore trickier, and different gallerists will have various ideas of what it means. We’ll come back to the idea of quality in a moment.