Getting one’s work into a gallery?

[Ricochetrider]

I’ve read somewhere, some time ago, somebody’s version of “rules” (guidelines?) for getting one’s art into a gallery… been too long now, don’t really recall the process and anything I do remember seems so… yesteryear. 

 

Does anyone have any recent experience or current knowledge on this subject?
 

How does one go about convincing a gallery to show their work? 

[Sandy Vongries]

Click on Explore in the toolbar at the top, Gallery and Add image. Upload from your computer.

[Ricochetrider]

2 hours ago, Sandy Vongries said:

Click on Explore in the toolbar at the top, Gallery and Add image. Upload from your computer.

Ah well thanks for that… 😐

I mean a brick-&-mortar style art gallery,

 

but maybe I’ll add some shots to the P.net gallery and see if they get any traction 😊

[movingfinger]

This little exchange above made me chuckle. Reminds me of the old "How does one get to Carnegie Hall", one way is "Practice, practice, practice", the other is "Take the F train and get off at 57th street."

[Ricochetrider]

24 minutes ago, movingfinger said:

This little exchange above made me chuckle. Reminds me of the old "How does one get to Carnegie Hall", one way is "Practice, practice, practice", the other is "Take the F train and get off at 57th street."

Ha ha thanks for that! 

[Sandy Vongries]

39 minutes ago, Ricochetrider said:

Ah well thanks for that… 😐

I mean a brick-&-mortar style art gallery,

 

but maybe I’ll add some shots to the P.net gallery and see if they get any traction 😊

Sorry! My internet access has been a series of brief windows and I have been moving as fast as I can.  It just came back up after a couple of hours down.

Visit galleries, meet owners and staff, look at what they have displayed.  Revisit the ones you like and bring a small portfolio. Follow your instincts!

[Ricochetrider]

Thanks Sandy, all good brother!

Just spent a few mins looking around the internet and it seems it’s all about cautiously and gently beginning (a relationship with the Gallerist. 
All for the long term. 

In two nearby towns or cities, there are burgeoning art scenes. Maybe it’s time for a couple of field trips to see what local galleries are showing and maybe to meet some people. 
 

It happens that I know artists in each city, probably a good idea to talk to each to see who they know around their respective areas? 

[Sandy Vongries]

1 minute ago, Ricochetrider said:

Thanks Sandy, all good brother!

Just spent a few mins looking around the internet and it seems it’s all about cautiously and gently beginning (a relationship with the Gallerist. 
All for the long term. 

In two nearby towns or cities, there are burgeoning art scenes. Maybe it’s time for a couple of field trips to see what local galleries are showing and maybe to meet some people. 
 

It happens that I know artists in each city, probably a good idea to talk to each to see who they know around their respective areas? 

The last, a very good idea, particularly any than may have experience with the venue.  There are also better restaurants that display and sell art.  I have seen hospital and clinic waiting rooms with framed photos and art, some priced for sale.  Cast a broad net - involvement in the art community is always a good idea.  Artists often require photos of their work as well, and I haven't met many who were, say, painters, and photographers as well.  Should be fun times!  Don't miss show openings at galleries if they are open to the general public.

[AJG]

If you want sales stay away from restaurants, hospital lobbies, etc. since there is no-one there who has any interest in selling your work and most people won't make the effort to contact you to complete a sale. Lighting in these venues is frequently poor and your work won't be shown to its best advantage.  There is also the part about places that do this don't have to buy any artwork from anybody since they get a free supply while telling the artists about the value of all of this exposure.  Artists have died from this kind of "exposure." If you only care about your work being seen then this is OK.  If you want to earn money with it then you need a real commercial gallery that sells work regularly.  It isn't easy to get into a good one, but if  you find one that can sell your work it is worth it after doing due diligence about how they treat artists--i.e. do they pay them when they sell work in a reasonable amount of time, etc.

[Sandy Vongries]

AJG is probably correct in general, but a great deal depends on relationships, particularly outside urban centers, but also in neighborhoods inside them.

[Wayne Melia]

No personal experience, but:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQAmQ0sLgeM

 

[c_watson1]

Cynically, art without commerce is a hobby. Galleries exist by paying rent with money from sales of your work. They know what sells to their client base which obviously varies gallery to gallery. Can't sell it? Don't want it. Brutal? Maybe but what would you do in their shoes?

[Ricochetrider]

Thanks Everyone.

Well not so much hospitals or restaurants…BUT

I’m about to display some photos in some commercial environments- if you haven’t seen my other thread about “new business”.
 

One of my work places shows stuff from within our community of employees. The exhibit goes in this week and will be up til March. These are my “moto photos”, on black and white film. It’s a large campus based around Entertainment & music tours- large rehearsal studios, industry shops, a hotel and some retail spaces in a publicly accessible building that also features a small rehearsal space, a brewery, some meeting rooms, and a bistro. 
ROCK LITITZ WEBSITE

Also, in December I joined our local Art Association and the president loved these same photos! She’s arranged for me to hang them in 2 corporate offices, one a financial group from July-Sept; the other is Highmark (Blue Cross Blue Shield) from Nov-Jan 2024.

Highmark apparently also features artists and their works on their website for remote employees to see? So I’ve been told anyway. 
 

Through it all, I’ve been told to “get a price list together”- unsure of course IF I’ll sell anything but the expectation has been set that perhaps I will? 
 

In any case, simply exhibiting is an exciting Next Step”. Let’s see how it goes! 
 

Interesting side note, turns out a friend who is a successful painter went through all this with the Art Association (some years ago?) and has nothing but good things to say about  the president - and his experiences with them.

Art Assoc of Harrisburg

 

[c_watson1]

Just be careful about others managing your expectations.

[AlanKlein]

3 hours ago, Ricochetrider said:

Thanks Everyone.

Well not so much hospitals or restaurants…BUT

I’m about to display some photos in some commercial environments- if you haven’t seen my other thread about “new business”.
 

One of my work places shows stuff from within our community of employees. The exhibit goes in this week and will be up til March. These are my “moto photos”, on black and white film. It’s a large campus based around Entertainment & music tours- large rehearsal studios, industry shops, a hotel and some retail spaces in a publicly accessible building that also features a small rehearsal space, a brewery, some meeting rooms, and a bistro. 
ROCK LITITZ WEBSITE

Also, in December I joined our local Art Association and the president loved these same photos! She’s arranged for me to hang them in 2 corporate offices, one a financial group from July-Sept; the other is Highmark (Blue Cross Blue Shield) from Nov-Jan 2024.

Highmark apparently also features artists and their works on their website for remote employees to see? So I’ve been told anyway. 
 

Through it all, I’ve been told to “get a price list together”- unsure of course IF I’ll sell anything but the expectation has been set that perhaps I will? 
 

In any case, simply exhibiting is an exciting Next Step”. Let’s see how it goes! 
 

Interesting side note, turns out a friend who is a successful painter went through all this with the Art Association (some years ago?) and has nothing but good things to say about  the president - and his experiences with them.

Art Assoc of Harrisburg

 

Sounds like you're off to a great start.  Good luck.  Can we see any of your photos on line? 

[Ricochetrider]

11 hours ago, AlanKlein said:

Sounds like you're off to a great start.  Good luck.  Can we see any of your photos on line? 

Thanks Alan,

I posted a thread with the prints over in scrutinies a while back, this is my B&W. car/bike work if you want to see what’s going “on tour”

In general tho I’m Ricochetrider & m0de_dujour at Instagram

Ricochetrider has become almost exclusively moto stuff so I started a 2nd all-film account. I almost feel like I could open a 3rd for phone & digital but so far haven’t felt passionate enough about it to do so. 
 

I have a Zenfolio account where I store most of my stuff, at least the past 10 or more years. There’s quite a lot of general photography, travel stuff etc but that’s a lot to wallow through 😊
 

http://www.instagram.com/ricochetrider/

http://www.instagram.com/m0de_dujour/

[paddler4]

Quote

Cynically, art without commerce is a hobby. Galleries exist by paying rent with money from sales of your work. They know what sells to their client base which obviously varies gallery to gallery. Can't sell it? Don't want it. Brutal? Maybe but what would you do in their shoes?

Exactly.

Several years ago, I contacted half a dozen or more galleries to see if any would be interested in my work, with links to my website. Some ignored me, while others said no. One gallery director replied that she might be interested and asked me to bring her a box of prints. She was enthusiastic. Not only did she host a bunch of my images; she blew one up to poster size and placed it on the outside wall near the entrance. 18 months later, she contacted me to tell me that she would no longer show my work. She said she'd simply been wrong in this case about what her customers wanted and that although she really likes my work, she didn't sell enough prints, so she had to give the space to someone else. It's a business, after all. 

[Ricochetrider]

14 hours ago, c_watson1 said:

Just be careful about others managing your expectations.

Thank you, I appreciate that.
 

I’m trying to be at least a little proactive, but also trying more to roll with it and see what happens. Not trying to over think it but I decided that each image will be editions of 15.

IF anything happens to actually sell, I’ll have the print made and ship it or deliver it to the buyer after signing it. I’m offering prints framed or not but all the prints of this run will come same as these original pints, from Cone Editions in their Piezography Pro variant for B&W. 

But the truth is I’ve not done any of this before obviously so I really don’t know what to expect out of it all. 

[Ricochetrider]

1 minute ago, paddler4 said:

Exactly.

Several years ago, I contacted half a dozen or more galleries to see if any would be interested in my work, with links to my website. Some ignored me, while others said no. One gallery director replied that she might be interested and asked me to bring her a box of prints. She was enthusiastic. Not only did she host a bunch of my images; she blew one up to poster size and placed it on the outside wall near the entrance. 18 months later, she contacted me to tell me that she would no longer show my work. She said she'd simply been wrong in this case about what her customers wanted and that although she really likes my work, she didn't sell enough prints, so she had to give the space to someone else. It's a business, after all. 

Yeah guess it’s a “venture” for all parties… and one never knows. Reading about it on the web, it seems the best one can do is find a gallery that offers something similar to what one is shooting, gain a mutual trust between oneself and the gallerist- then leave it all up to providence. 
 

South central Pennsylvania is definitely not known as any sort of Art Mecca, that’s a pretty well established fact.

BUT there’s a massive local vintage car and motorcycle scene: Hershey’s & Carlisle’s long running, internationally attended Car Shows top the list but there are myriad other things going on as well- local ride/drive in bike or car nights, a local drag strip, dirt drags in Allentown, National antique motorcycle (AMCA) events…. A smaller motor racing Museum that hosts jalopy drags at South Mountain Raceway among other events, and Hershey’s Antique motor museum and AACA national HQ at Hershey. And a Harley Davison factory down the road in York. All within a reasonable 75 ish mile circle. We literally are surrounded by vintage car and bike stuff, and there are more motorcyclists in general around here than anywhere I’ve ever been. The area really is extraordinary for Classic and vintage cars especially but for bikes too. 
 

So I’m going into this hopefully but with a nod to reality too. If anything sells then hallelujah. If not l get to hang some of my own favorites in our home! 
 

Meanwhile….

A small side bonus, perhaps? If my name is “getting out” there then maybe at the very least I’m furthering my “brand” 😁 !!! When Ricochetrider becomes a household name, you guys can all say “I knew him when”

😂🤪🤣

In all seriousness tho, I am excited to be doing something, anything with this stuff. Just showing my photos is its whole own thrill and I’m grateful for the chance to exhibit this set of prints. If it all comes to naught, no blood no foul. Nothing ventured, nothing gained says I. 

[samstevens]

Quote

Cynically, art without commerce is a hobby.

Yes. This is cynical. It’s also nonsense. There are plenty of artists making great art and not wanting or able to sell it. Sales is an aspect of the art world having little to do with what makes art or an artist. This does not minimize a desire to submit work to a gallery. It just puts it into perspective. Rejections won’t change the artistry.

Edited January 31, 2023 by samstevens