How to Get (& Keep) Your Work in a Gallery

I'm working at my 3rd gallery, and since getting involved with running/helping to run galleries I have developed some preferences about how artists present themselves and their work. Some of them can make or break a deal with new artists or with ones who get pulled because we need the wall space. So, in no particular order, here are some tips on how to get & keep your work in a gallery:

Organizing a group of artist is like...

1) When having your work critiqued, juried or otherwise submitted for approval, send digital images.

The Vertin Gallery works on a jury system with a board of 3 artists, a local business person and the Gallery Director. It is next to impossible to get them all together within a reasonable amount of time to give your art a "yay" or "nay". If you submit a digital portfolio, or a website we can direct them to, you'll get a response much faster. Also, most galleries don't have a lot of storage space and will appreciate not having to look after your 20 images or figure out what to do with your lovingly crafted portfolio. (Most common answer: Throw it out or toss it in a corner to collect dust)

2) Keep us up to date on your contact information.

Of all the items on this list, this should be the most obvious. However, it's alarming the frequency we have checks returned because the artist no longer lives at that address. We had one artist move to Finland and never tell us until someone finally looked up their website. There have been some missed opportunities because I have called artists with commission requests only to find the phone number I have for them has been disconnected. You not only miss out on potential income, but you annoy me and I remember that next time I have more pictures than wall space.

3) Call ahead and make an appointment

Do not, DO NOT, under any circumstances, drop by the gallery with your work in tow with no forewarning. Gallery Directors are busy people and they will resent you for unexpectedly interrupting their workflow. This is particularly true if you come in with a huge body of work that is going to take up a lot of space. Back stock is nice, we like having it, especially when our artists are snow birds and we won't be seeing them again for a few months, but for pity's sake please warn us before you come through the door with 150 handwoven wool rag rugs.

4) Perseverance. If first you don't get in, try, try again.

Sometimes you catch us on a grumpy day and we don't like anything. Sometimes we feel that we already have an excess of similar work. Just because we reject you the first time doesn't mean you won't make it in a second time. Ask us why, we'll give you our reasons for not taking your work. Adjust your portfolio and re-submit it in 6-9 months.

5) Understand that the gallery is not responsible for representing you alone.

Right now, Vertin Gallery represents 136 artists. We do our best to make sure each piece is displayed the best, and we try to switch the work around once a month or so. So yes, you art may not be in the most ideal spot for it right now, but we can't put everything in an ideal spot, there are only so many of them. If you really hate where your work is, politely mention it and ask us nicely. Once. Continue to whinge about your placement in the gallery and I will move all your stuff next to the bathroom. Or to corners no one looks in. I can be spiteful like that. It's a big project to rearrange the walls. Pictures come down, holes get patched and painted, pictures go up. Just think about how much effort you put into hanging pictures at home and then multiply it by 136 and do it every month. It's a week long project that we don't undertake lightly.

If this is what you type on, your e-mail address is probably inconsequential

6) Be available and prompt in your communication.

This goes along with keeping your contact information up to date. I average needing talk one artist per day just doing regular gallery business. If you don't check your e-mail, don't give me your e-mail address. It's frustrating to have projects held up because I'm waiting to hear back from an artist. I'm not saying you should be sitting by the phone at home waiting for a call, but please respond with in a reasonable amount of time.

7) Understand & Prep for our Inventory system

You could be the worst artist in the world, but if you kept me updated on your contact information and came in with your inventory already prepped for the floor I will fight tooth and nail to keep you in the gallery because you make my job easy.

8) On the same note, give us your artist resumes, bios and statements

This helps us sell your work. There have been a number of missed sale opportunities because we couldn't tell the potential buyers about the artist. We don't like missing out on sales anymore than you do, so please do your part to help us make them. You should have these things ready to go and on hand at all times anyway. Like your contact information, we like having up-to-date versions of these as well.

9) Business Cards

Probably the least influential thing on the list, but when I have something I can hand the customer so that they can think about buying your work, they are more likely to come back and get it.

10) Price your work & Keep it Consistent

Nothing is more annoying to me than an artist who is constantly changing the price on their work. When you keep calling me to raise and/or lower the price on your work, I have to do 3 things: Update our inventory information, send an update to our accountant and print a new tag for your work. When I print new tags, I usually run a sheet because we use business cards, other galleries use stickers, both come on sheets. That means I have to either a) find 9 other things to print or b) waste 9 potential labels. If you're changing your prices every month, we're going to have words. Besides making an annoyance of yourself, it's really unprofessional.

11) Label Your Work

Unfortunately, we loose track of things. Our labels fall off, people take them, one worker moves your work without telling the rest of us. If your work is labeled with the title and your name, we can figure it out. If not, well, it gets put into storage until you happen to ask us about it. And please please please label it where it won't be seen when it's displayed. I've had an artist who put stickers on the glass of all their frames with everything handwritten on it. It just made it look like a garage sale.

12) Have Your Work Ready to Display Conventionally

For paintings, this means framed and wired with the peak of the wire 2" below the top of the frame. For sculpture, this means having a base that will allow it to be free standing. For clothing, hangers or mannequins. Sure, we have some work that isn't framed or able to display in a conventional means, but that's because we liked it enough to ignore it. Maybe you'll get lucky, but why take that chance?

13) And while we're on the subject, make sure you're work has Quality Finishing

I know framing is expensive, and that it's tempting to get those cheap plastic frames from Big Box Mart for a couple of bucks. Don't. Spend the money to have it done right. If you want someone to pay $300 for your work, you have to treat it like it's worth $300, and that means NOT using cheap plastic frames. Or wire hangers for clothes. If you're making your own frames, make sure they're not going to come apart, because if they do, this means your work is sitting the storage waiting for repairs, not on the floor getting bought. If you really need to find inexpensive framing options, keep an eye out in your local re-sale stores for good old wood frames.

14) If you're not unique and original, be salable.

There is one artist in our gallery who no one on the board likes. We will never get rid of them though because their work sells. This is because they do images that are of interest to our customer base and have a large following of collectors.

15) Get to know us

Want preferential treatment for your work? Get to know us personally, we're more likely to give you better display places, accept a larger volume of your work and keep you around if we have a personal connection with you. Really want to butter us up? Buy one of our pieces. Most people who work in a gallery are also artists themselves.

Not Pictured: Restraint

16) Restrain yourself in the amount of work you bring in

Most galleries are fairly small. Vertin Gallery is somewhat larger, but represents more artists. Space is limited and you are not helping matters when you bring in 50 3' x 5' pieces. You are not the only artist, and if you don't make a lot of sales with us we will be reluctant to give up that much space to you. Want to know how much work you should bring in? Ask, we'll be glad you did. Also, offer to remove a piece for every new work you bring in. We like that.

17) Keep it Fresh

There are, what I have come to call, the dregs of an art series. You've done 10 pictures of Lake Superior, 7 have sold but the remaining 3 have been hanging in the gallery for the last year and a half. This is not good for you or the gallery, if you haven't given us new work in the last year, and we haven't made a sale of your stuff in over a year you're going to get pulled. Come in, pick up your work and give us something new. Then, after some time has passed, try those 3 pictures again, they might sell this time after having a rest. The gallery is not interested in displaying your work, they want to sell it. We are not a museum.