How do I approach a gallery to display my work?

[Bill Wyko]

I was wondering if anyone knew how I should approach a gallery and what I could expect to pay in commissions to them. I sent pics to one a while back. The lady was kind of snooty and said "We already have an artist that does what you do." I just said thanks and left it at that. Maybe you all can gime me a better approach.

Thanks.

[Jim Burr]

My arrangement with Blackfish is 50/50. For most out-of-towners, it's 65/35!! But I have good friends (and very wealthy) friends of the owner in the area so he gave me the "local" split. The wine shop here in town was a little different. I made a case of Zin and noticed they had some Cheapo-repo accessories behind the counter...brought in the good stuff, did the touchy feely and said "Where do you want to set up?" I have a friend at work that is opening a pumpkin roll shop with a bunch of different types of rolls...she want everything!!! Kinda boils down to access and who you know. I'm in the market for a new drill press so I'm back in production mode and saving my nickles! If you have a good camera on your phone, take pic's of everything and just show people you meet...I haven't turned a pen in a month and need to make 10 by next week for the start of this year because people see my pics or someone says "hey!!! it's the Pen dude!". I just show people my phone pics and it turns into "Do you have anymore of this or that?" Your stuff is bomb, so you'll be driving a Beemer in no time!!

[Russell Eaton]

Bill after seeing your work, i don't think they have a turnre doing what YOU do. That is a compliment. No help with the gallery.

[Michael Menzli]

I would consider internet sources/galleries as a location as well...One big one is etsy. I will also say we have a local farmers market in town that offers different wares. There is one guy who does wood turning (pretty poor at that) and makes a killing. Im hoping to give him competition this coming year. Also some yearly festivals that bring in all kinds of artisans that do really well. These all require no commision but perhaps a monthly fee.

Now to your original point. I would say face to face with some items in hand would prob. go a long way. Its hard to really read a person and gather personality over the phone . Just making connections and forming relationships will surely help in the long run. Also tempering expectations...even though your stuff may be really good..realize not everyone will...dont oversell but also dont sell yourself short...I realize you may be after a higher end market but perhaps tempering things a bit will garner better results.

[Bill Wyko]

Thanks very much. I've actually made really good money on the few pieces I've sold. I own an easy up, pro panels and a complete display system to do art shows but I can never seem to make the time. I was jurried into one of the top 10 art shows in the USA back in 2009 and did very well there. It was in Carefree AZ. Nothing sold for less than $1000.00 dollars. I just can't make the time like that any more.

[Dan Hintz]

My arrangement with Blackfish is 50/50. For most out-of-towners, it's 65/35!!
Holy cow, they take 65%?!! That's insane. I would have expected them to get the 35% (at most!).

[mike holden]

Holy cow, they take 65%?!! That's insane. I would have expected them to get the 35% (at most!).

Yep, that is the going rate. Of course, they are the ones with the brick and mortar, overhead, advertising,.....and CLIENTELE.
Mike

[curtis rosche]

i went in without any bowls, asked if they did consignment work first, this avoids the no soliciting in some places. then went to the car and brought some in if they said yes. i have a %50/%50 rate. its better than the painter who is 60%/30% but they pay a $120 monthly fee on top of it

[curtis rosche]

also, i went to a gallery that didnt have any other wood in it other than some wood burning portraits. i have no other competition for at least a block

[David DeCristoforo]

Boy is this one close to home! I would love to share my thoughts on dealing with galleries. A book could be written on this! Where to start? OK… to begin with, the more "prestigious" the gallery, the harder it is to "get in" As you go up the scale, prices get higher and higher but the necessity for "originality" increases at the same level. If the gallery represents… OK… sticky wicket" already… so for the sake of discussion and since you do segmented work, lets say a "well known segmented turning artist", your segmented work might not get them too excited even though it might be as good or even better than the work of the artist they already represent.. That's where you get the "We already have someone who does that" bit. You are really going to have to knock their socks off with what you show them.


I don't think any gallery would seriously consider taking on an new artist without seeing the work "in the flesh". This means you either have to go there or you have to send them examples of your pieces. If the gallery is too far away for you to take the pieces personally, you should really "vet" the gallery by talking to other artists they represent. It is imperative for you to understand that, no matter what they tell you, it will be incumbent on you to keep track of everything. What pieces they have, what the agreed upon prices are, how much of that you get, when pieces are sold and so on. If you are too far away to check in periodically, you will have no way to know when your stuff gets sold. So the closer to home the gallery is, the better.


Having work in a top gallery may be good for your self esteem and your overall "standing" as an artist. But how well your work sells is going to depend on how well the gallery promotes it. If it just sits on a shelf in an obscure corner and no one points visitors to it or encourages them to invest in it, it is not very likely to get sold. And that is how most buyers of art see their purchases. They are, for the most part, not just buying a pretty object. They are making an investment in the hope that the value of the work will increase. This is good for everyone but it won't happen if the gallery fails to present your work properly.


A "good" gallery is one that invests some energy in promoting your work. That's really what you pay them for. And yes, you are paying them. Half or more of the sale prices of your work. That's a lot of money to pay. For that kind of payment, they should be actively presenting your work as a good investment.


And that brings us to the next point. Most gallery owners will tell you that emerging artists are as important as established artists. Galleries need new work if their offerings are to remain fresh and able to keep people coming back to see what's new. But as an 'emerging artist", you work will not command the prices that an established artist's work brings. Therefore, the gallery is not necessarily going to give you the best placement or the best sales effort.


As an artist, you will find yourself in a very peculiar position. It's very similar to the position writers find themselves in. The gallery cannot exist without the artist. In fact, without the artist, there is no reason for them to exist at all. But until you achieve such prominence and there is so much demand for your work that price becomes irrelevant, you will find that you are "low man on the totem pole". You can find yourself dealing with people who are so full of self importance that they have little time for you in their busy day. They can seem to be oblivious to the fact that you are their reason for existing. They have no time to take your calls or to return calls or even a quick email response. It can be very frustrating but like I said, you need to stay on top of what they are doing with your work.


I have been told that "co-op" galleries are "better" because they usually take a smaller percentage. But the also usually require that you work in the gallery a certain number of hours each month and they also tend to fall more into the "craft gallery" category where prices are generally much lower that "art gallery" prices. Also, they tend to be "local" and do not have the regional or national presence that a top art gallery will have. It is in these galleries that people are much more likely to ask questions like "What is it used for?", a question that is rarely heard in an art gallery!


My own procedure is to begin sending galleries I am interested in pictures of my pieces as I make them. I only send one picture at a time because they are waaaay too busy to look at a lot of pictures. Also, I never send links to my web site or my facebook page because they are waaaay too busy to go clicking around on your web site. After I have sent several pictures, I may send them an email or call them just to get their "take" on my stuff. This can often be met with the equivalent of a "blank stare" as they scratch their heads and try to remember the pictures you are talking about. So you may have to resent them. And now and then, you may excite their interest enough that they call you! But don't hold your breath for that.


If the gallery is within driving distance, just go there. Bring five or so of your best pieces. Make sure they are packed nicely… no old cardboard boxes and crumpled newspaper. Just ask them to look at them. Most of the time you will get a solid yes or no right there on the spot. Sometimes you will get some interest but not real excitement. That is good and much better than a "not interested" statement. This can also be a good opportunity to find out what the gallery is "looking for". It might be possible for you to offer whatever that is without having to compromise your own vision. One of the first rules of sales is that people buy what they want, not what they need. So find out what they want. If they don't want what you have, you are dead in the water no matter how badly they might need it. So if a gallery tells you they don't want your work, move on. Don't waste any more of your time. On the other hand, if they say, we like this work but we would really like to have some pieces shaped like this instead of that and you have no issues making them shaped like this instead of that, you may have just found a way to satisfy a want and that might be enough to get you in the door.


Most of the artists I know are always talking about the "art game". Not the art "business". The game. Gallery owners are in a unique position because they have positioned themselves as people who can be trusted to guide buyers to the work that will represent a good investment. Most people don't know squat about art. So just like they depend on interior designers to tell them what color to paint their walls, they depend on art dealers to tell them what to hang on them. People will buy the crappiest art for the most outlandish prices simply because a gallery owner told them it was worth buying. it really is a game and it can be a very frustrating one, especially if you don't know the rules. The problem is compounded by the fact that every gallery has it's own set of rules and you need to find out what they are. Hopefully one day your work will be so much in demand that you can set your own rules. You can bet that well established and "collectable" artists do not play by the same rules you will have to play by just walking in off the street.


OK…that's close to a book right there!

[John Beaver]

All galleries have different rules for being approached. Some list them on their website, others you need to call and ask what their policy is. Most galleries do not want to meet with walk in artists. I would call and ask what the policy is. Be prepared to send in photos first, and then follow up with a request for an appointment. I would start with local galleries first as I think it's easier to establish a relationship with a local gallery, and they usually like having local artists.

50/50 is a pretty standard split. If the gallery is asking for more I would do a lot of homework before I gave them my stuff. If they ask less then that's good for you.

[Bernie Weishapl]

I agree with John. I contacted the local gallery and talked with the director. She likes having local artist and promoting them. I then made a appointment with her and brought some of my turnings. She took them to the board and I was accepted. I guess I have a better split than most because it is 70/30. I just got into another gallery in another town but the split is 60/40. Basically it was the same thing. Appointment to talk, then another to see my pieces and present them to the board and then was notified I was accepted.

[curtis rosche]

adding to what i said before. i signed a contract with my gallery, i can take a peice back from the gallery, but if i sell it in the couple months after it leaves the gallery, the money must still come to the gallery. and im not allowed to sell work at other galleries. but on the plus side, i didnt pick a super high end gallery. i sell work between $30 and $120 and i have sold near 40 peices. i go into other galleries around and see a few years of dust on some amazing segmented works because there is no market for people buying wood turnings over $300 around here. i know i dont make much at it, most goes into my gas tank. but its a hobby. i dont pay for wood, or the garage or power. just my tools, which should last a few years at least, and anything i break in the garage while creating.

[Richard Allen]

There is a gallery perspective for placing work in their gallery. The most important aspects a gallery owner considers is, how quickly can I sell this, how much can I make from selling this and can the woodturner keep up with demand?

The objects that you make to sell through a gallery must be objects which will sell. The objects can be beautiful, finely made and something to behold but if the objects can't be sold they are worthless to the gallery owner. The gallery owner is someone with a set of expertise that we as makers do not have. The gallery owner knows their clientele. Unless you are bringing clientele to their gallery (and why would you need a gallery if you have your own clients) you must defer to this expertise that the taller owner has.

Price for a gallery owner is more important then price is for the buyer. A gallery that has a bunch of $1000+ items for sale doesn't have any use for $20 items. The same holds the other way around. A gallery which has a bunch of $50 items isn't likely to sell $500 items. More than that the gallery owner knows the market better than you do. They know what objects sell for. They know what they can expect to make from an object. If your price is to high then they can't make any money from trying to sell the object.

The gallery owner may ask you how long it took to make something. They are interested in knowing if you can keep up with demand. The gallery owner knows that an unusual item could start selling and they need to be able to supply demand or lose out on sales.

Objects which sit in a gallery for to long (collect dust) are consuming valuable space in the gallery. There is obviously something wrong with the object. Replace the objects which don;t sell with new objects. Take a critical look at the object and try to determine what about the object isn't working. It could be as simple as a scratch or finish run which you hadn't noticed before. It could be that the object isn't attractive. You can often learn more about your woodturning from the well placed objects which don't sell than from the objects which do sell.

To get to the original point of the thread: The gallery may have already had some wood stuff that isn't selling.

[Bill Wyko]

Thanks everyone. This is a lot of very valuable input. Soon I'll put it to use. I mentioned before that I'm in the planning stages of a very complex vessel. The math so far indicates the feature ring will have around 3800 pieces. With any luck it'll be so mind blowing that they will want to compete over it. Then my other projects hopefully will have more credibility.
I did 2 shows back in 2009 I think it was. The first one my work was way above the price range and the community would command. The guy that put it on said "You have to start at the bottom and work your way up." I respectfully disagreed with him and went on my way. Then I submitted pictures to one of the top 10 art shows in the USA put on by Thunderbird artists. I was jurried in on my first try. I sold 3 pieces at that event and got really good money for them. Problem is, it's really hard for me to travel to shows and run my business at home. I have won several contest with my work and been published in a few magazines so I get to use that on my resume. I'm hoping to publish a few articles in the future too. Combine this with the info you guys posted here and I might stand a chance. Thank again very much for all the replies.