Gallery Representation, from Swiping Right to Partnering Up!
The dating game of finding a gallery.
In this episode we discuss forming relationships with galleries and interior stores. From finding and approaching a gallery (specifically how we have approached them), and what to do if you get the ‘dreaded rejection’ email or worse still - totally ghosted. It’s a bit like the dating game really - just like finding the right partner involves figuring out compatibility, communication styles and looking for someone who supports you, finding the right gallery that you connect with, and one that supports your growth in a way that feels aligned with you is very important. But it’s not always an easy journey - of course there’s always going to be times when things don’t work out, so finding a gallery does take resilience! But it goes without saying that we only have our own experiences to draw from. We share how we’ve failed, how we’ve succeeded, and what we feel are some important things to consider. However, we have future episodes planned where we actually talk to some experts to get the inside knowledge!!
Mentioned on the pod:
Some Do’s & Don’ts from Wayne Malkin from Montville Art Gallery, Queensland
Being rejected by a gallery after approaching them for representation incorporates a whole raft of reasons. Importantly most don't have anything to do with the quality of the art. We get approached around two to three times every week by different artists and we only have one or two spots available each year so the main reasons we reject artists in no particular order are;
1. The art is good but the subject is unsaleable (think unacceptable subject matter).
2. The art is good but doesn't match the general theme of the gallery. We get asked to display abstract (and we only display subject based art).
3. The art is too similar to an existing represented artist.
4. The prices are to high or low compared to others in the gallery.
5. The art is perfect in every way but negatively affects the balance in the gallery. For example, we have a maximum number of works behind glass at the moment.
6. there is not enough work presented for the gallery to see the depth of practise.
7. The work is too old, (we like to see work produced in the previous six months. Not what was done at school twenty years ago)
8. We don't feel the artist has the capacity to keep the gallery stocked. A continuous representation is preferred.
9. The proffered works are too diverse and don't form a coherent collection. And on to the dreaded reason for rejection
10. The work is not up to the quality required. But the good news is if all the criteria above are filled an artist will very likely get a spot, particularly if the work is additionally new, innovative and exciting.
“The takeaway from all this is choose the gallery carefully by researching all you can to make sure your art is a good match, and you have a good presentation. There are also a lot of Do Nots which I will not go into in this email. On the whole most galleries like ours would like to help develop the careers of as many artists as possible but are limited by exhibition space. So with choices to make we select artists who are more likely to be commercially successful to the existing client base. Therein lies the crux. An artist must choose a gallery to get access to their appropriate customer base, who's expectations on price, subject, style and content are already in tune with the work they do. After all that, every gallery is different, so these points of view certainly represent us and probably most other commercial galleries. But possibly not all.” - Wayne Malkin.
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Kofi Thanks:
Huge thank you to Lucy, Sharni, Trudi & Lisa!
This week
Studio updates:
PG: Got this one back from the framers, it’s now available at Flagstaff gallery
JB: Loving painting my clouds this week
Life Update:
PG : Visiting Julie was pretty darn good!!
JB: : had so much much fun with Phoebe here this week!!!
What are you watching/ listening to?
PG : Listening to a lot of early Blur and reminiscing about the 90’s
JB: I have been listening to Osher Gunsberg’s : ‘Better then Yesterday’ and loving it
Fab meme of the week
PG:
JB:
Fave Art product of the week?
PG: tissues, sinus spray and paracetamol…
JB: sleep, is sleep an art product? it should be
Anything random to share ?
PG: Julie is definitely not 5”4’… 5”2’ in shoes more like!
JB: My oldest son nows says “spotto” with an english accent after playing it with Phoebe (I feel like we need to elaborate here 😂: Spotto is game you play in the car where you shout Spotto when you see a yellow car! PG)
Find Julie here: www.juliebattisti.com , @juliebattisti & Julie’s newsletter
Find Phoebe here: www.phoebegander.com , @phoebeganderart & Phoebe’s newsletter:
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Keep Failing!
Julie & Phoebe xx
I’m at least 5”2’ sans shoes, surely