How to become represented in an art gallery?

Question

If you are a new artist in an area, how would you build a reputation in order to be recognized in the local art scene?

Answer 1

It all depends on the desired outcome, but the following items might help;

1) Visit the area galleries to determine what galleries exhibit work similar to your style of work. Go to artnet.com for a good listing source.
2) Join an art cooperative or local art organization in order to meet other artists and work towards an exhibition opportunity.
3) Submit work for invitational art exhibitions to build your vitae. A good source for these exhibitions is the College Art Association website.
4) After you have participated in several group exhibitions, select galleries that will be responsive to your art, and send them a portfolio of slides or a cd-rom portfolio. Your package should include a statement and your vitae listing the exhibitions you have participated in.

This is one approach to developing recognition for your art, and a way to build relationships in the art community. Keep in mind that the commerical visual art market is both subjective and highly competitive. The odds of gallery/museum success are similar to professional sports, so don't forget what comes first, making art, and keep the business of art second. Good luck.

Answer 2

FIRST get some skills and then do stuff that (cant )be categorized , ask local cafes if you can display your art and for a small fee some galleries will hold a show for you . try to team up with other artist that share the same interest as you

Answer 3

In the beginning, you show where ever you can--coffee shops, banks, hospitals. You can start a free artist website at www.absolutearts.com. Post your work and send out a postcard to galleries with the weblink.

Keep in mind that dealing with galleries can be an ego deflator. There is a lot of rejection, but you must learn not to take that personally. Galleries have overhead and other things to consider, so when they reject your work, they are saying "we don't think this will appeal to our clientele", not "you suck". Review a gallery online and see what kind of work they show before you approach them, and only approach galleries that seem to show work in the same vein as yours. If they only show still life flower vases, don't bother them with goth cartoons.

Answer 4

The answer lies in your ability or desire to market yourself. This can be as sane as the answers above, to nailing homemade posters to telephone poles. Make up business or postcards showing you work and drop them off at restaurants, art stores, frame shops, home decor places...even send to interior designers. Build a web page and include the URL on your handouts. Paint in public places and have plenty of cards to hand out. Go where artists hang out and talk to them. But above all, be sure to have a portfolio of images to take to the local galleries that feature emeging artists.

Answer 5

I am going through this exact same thing myself at the moment.

One suggestion: go to as many openings as possible to get your name and face out there. Another tip: after you have 12 to 15 pieces united in theme, size and medium, get slides taken (professional ones), label them neatly, and submit them to every gallery in the area that carries work like yours with a very nice cover letter (and resumé or bio if you have one).

I have found Molly Barnes's book "How To Get Hung" an absolutely tremendous resource ... Not only does it offer insights and guidelines from within the trenches of the gallery scene (where Molly obviously knows the lay of the land), but it offers inspiration and the courage to stick with it to people like us.

I hope you check it out, and I hope you like it as much as I do. After reading (and re-reading) this unassuming little tome, and putting some of her suggestions into practice, I feel I'm well on my way.

Best of luck, fellow artist :)