It was with much elation that I read an email sent out by a fairly prominent gallery (which will remain unnamed in this post) in Chelsea, NY last week announcing that they were happy to represent my work. I had entered an art competition sometime back hosted by the same gallery and I guess I must have caught someone’s eye to be ‘noticed’ by the gallery’s director. This was about the same time that we were having our second child (we had a baby boy and all are doing well) and I did not bother to read some of the fine print that the same email carried. Once things settled down a bit over the weekend, I decided to check the attached legalese and found out that the gallery representation came at a cost:
- Basic One-Year Representation ~ $3K (10 feet of exhibition space)
- Standard One-Year Representation ~ $5K (20 feet of space)
- Premium One-Year Representation ~ $10K (40 feet of space and review in some NY art publication)
All of the above options include the following ‘perks’
- Allow use of words “represented by Un-named Gallery” on resume.
- Director reserves right to establish prices for work.
- Representation on the gallery’s online site (~ 8 images)
I remember being a little confused. I was under the impression that galleries who decide to represent an individual’s work do it out of two things: 1) An understanding by the gallery that the work would attract buyers and it does make economic sense to exhibit 2) Genuine appreciation for the artwork submitted…
Maybe I am being too idealistic, but other than the gallery looking out to pay exorbitant Chelsea based rents in this case, I fail to see how ‘fee based tiered representations’ like the one described above would really help artists like me…
What are your thoughts, experiences and advice? Are all galleries like this? Is this the norm to break into Chelsea (especially in a superheated art environment like the one that we are living in)? For some reason, I do not think so (but I am just an amateur with little experience venturing out into the art exhibition space)…
Cartoon of an ‘Overheated art district’
Sunil,
A similar thing happened to friend of a friend of mine, an artist in San Francisco. A NYC gallery invited him to give an exhibition of his work. He was happy until he caught on that he was supposed to pay for the show.
He declined the offer.
If it’s the gallery I am thinking of, they are rumored to sell a lot of work (light blue website, first and last letter the same). I’ve not heard of other galleries doing this, but I will check further and let you know.
Ed Winkleman in this older post recommends against using vanity galleries. He also had a more recent post regarding gallery alternatives.
My gut feeling is that this arrangement would not be a good one for most people. I think it would work best for someone who is really sure their work would sell if it were seen, has no good alternative for showing it, and is not concerned about possible repercussions for reputation. (I doubt the latter would be too severe if the work in fact did sell well.)
Something similar happened to me, but I had to drive my paintings all the way to Seattle, show them the work … and THEN they told me just what they wanted… I think it was 1700. to show me, and wow, put my work on their website.
I did more research on the gallery and it didn’t seem like they were going to take me to some new place.
If this gallery in Chlesea sells a lot of work or gets press, it might very well be worth it. Go to the openings (or google their artists) and get a feel for what they are offering you….
Gaining gallery representation is one of the biggest things on my mind. When I first found A&P, that was one of the first topics I searched for. Karl’s post about the right gallery directs us to Edward Winlkeman’s gallery rep post. Both guys have amazing advice.
With that said, I think if you have an ideal system you’d like to have, and fee based representation isn’t part of that system, totally don’t do it! This is an awesome step in your career, and you don’t want to go with something that doesn’t feel right.
I’m an idealist and sometimes things like business and money stay grounded in a real world. If that’s really how art life works, then I’d just sigh and hand over the money…
Sunil, my advice is “don’t do it”. If a gallery is making money from their artists rather than through commissions selling the artists’ work, it’s a ripoff. They should be ashamed (but I doubt they are).
Please don’t sell your soul to any gallery… without your butt they wouldn’t exist!
Congratulations on your baby boy!
xxxx
Sunil,
Congrats on the baby!
And I concur with the comments here — unless NYC is very very different, this is a “vanity press” — why will they bother to sell your wares when you are already paying the rent?
I’ll be waiting to hear what Bob’s research comes up with — maybe there are galleries that sell even when they have paying renters. And if you find out that there are good reviews of artist’s experiences with this gallery, let us know.
I am glad I asked this question and most of you had the same ‘gut feel’ as I have been having… “NOT A GOOD IDEA”. Apparently it looks like I have ventured into what is called a vanity gallery and they are not really thought in a good light in the art world. I also got feedback that exhibiting at a place like this does not help ones career and it seems that experienced curators can usually spot one of these entries in an artists resume… I am glad I opened up this discussion thread on A&P. One artist also sent me via email a link to a wikipedia article that talks about vanity galleries and a listing of them online. Funny enough, the un-named gallery that I was referring to in the post was actually on the list. The link is posted here for our common reference.
Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanity_gallery
Once again, thanks very much for all the well meaning advice.
Dear Sunil,
My thoughts on galleries that charge artists to exhibit can be summarized in a single word — “bullshit.”
Here’s the deal, you, the artist, are the goose that lays the golden eggs. They pay you. Period. No exceptions.
I would love to meet one of those vanity gallery owners in a dark alley one day.
So far, no luck. I suspect their crimes make them paranoid.
I enjoyed reading the comments here. I’ve worked in a gallery (but not in NYC) and no artist ever had to pay to show there. I think if the gallery gets a percentage of the art sales then that should be enough.
This reminds me of all those vanity presses out there for poetry and photography. I guess I would ask how would this affect your reputation as an arist now and in the future? Would you be judged harshly by people for doing this?