Choosing a gallery wisely

Is soooo important in many ways. Gallery staff need to be able to talk about you and your work well and sell sell sell. We know this is the bottom line but often it's forgotten and artists loose confidence in their ability and the joy at being included in a show is soon replaced by disappointment. If you don't sell at the gallery this can mean many things, a lot of the time it's not the work, but the suitability of the work to the galleries clients and location and the galleries commitment to establishing a quality clientele and having a good relationship with them.



I have come across galleries who don't sell work but still expect to charge high rental or an entry fee for submitting works into a group show. I have done this a few times. Time and time again works don't sell because the gallery has not got a relationship with their clients and rely on filling the space on opening night with friends and family of the artist - this looks great to fellow artists, who might then book the space, but they ain't buying.

My husband Paul and I popped into a gallery on the weekend, a rental space which we have been to often. They were having a group show and there were no other visitors about and the area was deserted. There was a lot of work, very affordable, though I counted only 2 or 3 red dots (there was a LOT of work). I came across a number of framed photographs which were superb, none had sold yet they were very affordable. I felt for the artist - I wanted to contact him and say: 'Hey, its not you!'

Very frustrating. When you don't sell work at an exhibition it deflates you. I know this artist would collect his work and wonder if they weren't provocative enough to sell, if only he knew.