10/27/2007 11:42:09

I live in Anchorage, Alaska, where the galleries that make money are  geared to touristy visitors. The total population of this city, largest in the state, is about 350K, so you can imagine the size of the local art buying community. I figure that to make a real living, I need to find gallery representation in larger metropolitan areas. When I travel, I visit galleries (about to do so in San Francisco) to see which ones show work something like my own. But I feel like the country cousin, not sure whether galleries have much interest in doing business with someone so far away. My current strategy, based on the criteria listed online by the John Pence Gallery in SF, is to work intensively for the next 18 months or so, concentrating on producing good work (to the exclusion of shows, volunteering at the local co-op gallery, other community projects) until I have at least 30 better-than-good pieces to present to a gallery. I suspect I will have to make an extraordinarily good impression to get anyone interested in working with me, given the geographic distance. So my question is, is this a good strategy, is there a way to refine this strategy, and is there a better strategy for someone in the outback to form a relationship with a decent gallery? By the way, have read the other posts here and feel very much helped by all the comments about how to interview the gallery.

10/01/2007 21:27:37

Thanks for those thoughts... I make some pretty market specific (read commercial) books that are a combination of my sketchbook/journal images hand and/or commercially printed and bound to offer a spring board to nervous "journal-ers" looking for a little more than a blank page. I am developing a new one for a local nature sanctuary that will split the profits as a fund raiser. I spend a lot of time there and lead little kids on discovery walks, tress are really important to me spiritually and I love to be outside. I like to give something back, you know... I also do a touristy series as I live near a couple of resort areas, one of which, Chautauqua Institution, is very art friendly. Those kinds of things allow me to indulge my passion for realism, and allow me to be as far fetched and whimsical with my "serious" work as I like, so I don't need to desperately find a market for that huge paper sculpture!! When I see work like yours I wish I was still on the other side of the gallery biz, because it was always o exciting to be able to represent something so incredible, and make more possible through sales!

09/30/2007 20:01:55

dryadart, Thanks for your kind remarks, but the truth is my work doesn't sell everywhere.  I still need to be picky about where I show it.  While I believe most people do get some enjoyment out of my vessels it still takes the right place or person to translate that into sales.

As for markets for 8 foot paper sculptures, I haven't a clue.  Of course, there wasn't much of a market for decorative metal vessels either, so don't give up completely on that. 

I loved printmaking too.  A hand pulled print has a quality you just don't get with other media.  I wish I had more time to get back into doing etchings. 

For years I too made books.  All mine were blank to be sold as journals, sketchbooks, poetry books, guest logs, etc.  I considered them unfinished works until someone used them, and thus finished them.  I too sold them both wholesale and on consignment through galleries.  I also did a lot of retail sales with these directly through me and tried art and craft fairs.  I determined I didn't like the craft fair life.  I also found art galleries weren't necessarily the only retail establishments to sell blank books in.  (They might be for art books.)  I sold plenty though or to several high end sporting goods stores.  My books had a woodsy outdoors appeal.  Don't feel what we do can only be sold in galleries.

 

09/30/2007 16:19:21

Well its hard to image your work not selling!! As it is so beautifully crafted and gorgeous.. I recently had a gallery approach me about wholesale... which really surprised me, but I think I will give it a try... I should probably add that in addition to my "serious" work  I make one of a kind art books and journals which is mainly what I sell through galleries, along with small edition prints (litho/etchings) and an occasional commissioned piece... not a whole lot of market for 8ft paper sculpture out there!!! Looking forward to reading the new articles...

09/25/2007 20:46:58

Whoops, I was going to say more about new galleries.  I too am wary of them.  Despite getting 50% of a sale and not having to pay money up front for the merchandise (ie. the art) many galleries fail, and often rather quickly.  It's a tough business all around it seems.  I should clarify, when I say "new gallery" I mean not just new to me, but they just started the business.  I ask questions of any gallery I'm considering to carry my work, but new businesses are a red flag to me.

 

The last two galleries I've taken on get around many of these issues by just buying my work wholesale.  I'm then less worried about their solvency or marketing plans because I'm not gambling with my stock.  I've been paid for what they have.  I still want them to succeed and will try to assist if I reasonably can, otherwise future reorders won't happen.

 

Of the two galleries I added, one was well established and the other wasn't even open yet.  I did talk to both owners for a while to get a feel for them and did my research.  It's not really a surprise that the newly opened gallery bought far less work than the established.  However, both have recently ordered more work..  To me this is reassuring that I accurately judged my vessels would sell in each place.

09/25/2007 20:28:00

Hmm, I can't seem to figure out how to add to my blog other than leaving a comment.  If anyone knows how please share.

 

Anyway,  thanks for the responses.  Those all sound like good topics to ask questions about.

 

Carolyn, I do know Scott, the gallery owner I'm going to talk with, is planning on putting submission guidelines on their website sometime in the near future.  Still how does he feel about artists just emailing him stuff cold.  I doubt short emails are an issue but large inbox clogging ones certainly could be.  I'll see what he says.

 

dryadart, when I first began thinking about this potential article I saw it as a review of what a good gallery might look like.  When starting out, many artists don't know what smells like a quality gallery and what is shouting "Run Run Run!"  A major factor in this being an excellent gallery, in my opinion, is their staff.  As I considered where the article might go, and what questions I would ask Scott, it seemed like two separate articles were taking shape.  One looking at what makes this gallery good and another asking more general gallery questions we might be afraid to otherwise.  I'm thinking I might cover the employee issue in the writing focusing on why I feel this is a good gallery.  I want to know what he looks for when hiring and how are they trained.  I'm also thinking about speaking straight with some of the employees to get their perspective on the training, working environment, etc.

 

Annie S,  you have some really good questions.  As I've become more established, or rather as the number of galleries wanting my work exceeds my ability to produce it, I've gotten bolder in what I ask about up front.  It's no longer, "Gee!  You'll show my work!  Oh yippie!"  It's what sorts of marketing to do you?  How long have you been in business?  How do you handle customer requests for discounts?  Still I haven't gotten bold enough to ask for sales figures (other than mine of course) or operating budget.  However, you are correct, why shouldn't we be able to ask these things with regard to consignment agreements anyway.  Consigning work is forming a partnership in some sense with the gallery.  While I don't really expect any real say in how they spend advertising dollars or what their marketing plan is, this is information I should be able to have when deciding to join with or stay in a gallery.  I can tell you that Scott and I have several times talked in depth about this galleries marketing efforts.  In fact, he once asked, not really expecting an answer, how do we stay at the top of the regional art market?  I thought about it seriously in the studio while hammering one day and typed him up several pages of ideas which he loved.  He has since actually implemented several of the suggestions or variations on them.  Having this sort of dialog has really helped build my relationship with the gallery.  I feel it's been great for both sides.  I'll definitely ask him how he'd react to artists requesting such information.

 

Please keep the questions coming.  This is great so far! 

09/24/2007 20:50:22

Hmm... Questions that I want to ask, but don't dare to? Well, for starters, I would love to know what the sales figures are, what the operating budget is, what the sales goals are, what the marketing plan is,...

As an artist, I find that galleries expect me to place blind trust in their abbilities.  That type of one-sided arrangement make me uncomfortable, and puts me in the awkward position of having to guess whether or not the relationship with a particular gallery will be successful. I'm not good at guessing, and I often make descisions regarding galleries that I live to regret. I would love a chance to peruse thier books first, before signing any contracts, to ascertain that the gallery was solvent and was operating with sound business practices in place. 

Is it just me, or does anyone else feel this way?  Lately I've been turning down offers for representation from new galleries, because I have not come away from any meetings with a comfortable level of trust instilled.  The idea of me consigning a large number of my artworks, and then not knowing if the gallery is going to actually market the works in an active manner or just heap them in a pile in the back of the storeroom is just too one-sided for me.  Sure, we both sign a contract, but as the artist, I'm the one putting up the physical collateral - ie; the inventory.  In return, the gallery is only expected to give me intangible promises.  I would put a whole lot more faith in those promises if I could see some numbers to back them up!

Annie

09/24/2007 18:56:41

I always want to interview the staff who'll be manning said space, to hear what they'll say about the work, how they will present me to a potential customer etc. In my experience on the other side of the fence, work that was presented with enthusiasm and understanding by my staff sold best.If they liked the work they transmitted that energy to the customer, and if they could talk knowledgeably about the processes of making, etc the work flew out the door. I always wonder what training the staff has, what their backgrounds and range of knowledge about art in general is... .