The Artist and the Galleries

About galleries, their director-owners and how they go about choosing artists to represent.

Galleries and their directors are difficult to fathom. At present, galleries appear to develop a clientele who buy a particular style and expression of art works. So if an artist comes in with truly competent work but does not fit in to their chosen style or niche of buyers the artist is inmediately shown out the door.

Must the artist first find a gallery that shows similar works to his own and then approach them with the request that they show his or her work? That is sometimes possible. Other times the works may be very competent but not alligned with current fashions. This is particularly difficult since there is nowadays no set style that can be easily gaged for competency. Anything goes if it is effectively realized: abstract, installations, messagy, realistic, computer idea art and many other expressions. In the end nothing helps an artist get in the door like being recommended by someone who has the "power" to influence the gallery director. That power could come from friendship or money, the last one best of all.

The power to accept or reject is intoxicating and many gallery directors consequently lose perspective and often act pretentiously patronizing. Even when they see excellence in the artist's work they still believe themselves above the level of the artist and ignore any request for a gallery to show his or her work.

Since the selling of good art is so diffucult for the individual artist there is a need in the artistic community for agents that may handle a large group of artists and be able to get access to the different art directors. That introduces a third element that gets a cut of the pie. So then we have the artist, the agent and the gallery.

Back to what has traditionally occurred throughout history, we can see that Van Gogh had his brother peddling his work yet failing miserably at it or we have the opposite,
Castelli gallery almost singlehandedly stopping abstract expressionisn and ushering in pop art.
So Andy Warhol, much less of a painter than Van Gogh was given a free ride to fame and monetary success.

I throw up my hands in frustration at the thought of approaching galleries for exhibition space.
Wish me luck as I do the same for all of you fellow artists out there!