This Artist’s Bad Experience

Please, allow me a slight rant.

Today’s blog post is a little bit of rant—something that I don’t do often, well in a public forum that is. But I was so flabbergasted yesterday when I stopped into one of my galleries to pick up my artwork that I ask you kindly to allow me get on my soapbox.

Now, I’m all about relationships. I value galleries and their place in the market and work really hard to build good relationships. But if any gallery owners are reading this post, I beg you to also value your artists and the work they bring to you. Honor that work. The work entails many hours of learning our crafts and searching our souls. We go to great lengths to honor our work. We handle it with kid gloves, we bring it to professionals to pack, and ship it with specialized art handlers. All we ask is the same in return.

I was completely and utterly taken aback yesterday when I walked into the gallery to find my work leaning stacked against the wall. Not a shred of protection or packaging, just cardboard between each of them. (Which mind you, isn’t the best material to put on the surface of a wax painting.)

My first inquiry was if they had any packing material. I was met with the question of whether they came with any packing material. Ahhh, yeah, they were shipped so they would have been properly packed.

Then I noticed the damaged piece. When I mentioned to the gallery assistant that the work was damaged she seemed uninterested and rubbed her fingers against it and proclaimed it ‘fixed’. I then asked for the return of the sales material that was to be presented with the work. Again, met with that ‘deer in the headlights’ look.

What can you do? Call and leave a message for the gallery owner, of course. Several text messages ensued each putting the onus on me for one thing or another—with the finale being, and I quote, “you yourself told me that encaustics can have issues with the layers separating – you’ve brought them to an entirely different climate.” Obviously she has no idea about encaustics as the layers are fused, thus becoming one—so not sure where she got that notion—but not from me. Now they can indeed be fragile, especially the edges if someone bumps it against something hard or, uh, leans the work improperly against a wall with no protection. But that’s why art professionals learn how to properly handle fragile work.

A simple, I’m sorry, can you fix it? What can we do? That’s all that was needed. And I would have been writing an entirely different post. Yes, I can easily fix it. But that is not the point. The point is that one minute a gallery has your work on it’s walls with a $2700 price tag and once they take it off the walls it has no value to them (emphasis on to them). I’m still wondering if they expected me to walk out of there with no packaging on the work at all.

OK enough of that. Onward. I will fix the damaged piece tomorrow and my ‘lovlies’ will be traveling east and spending time at Canyon Ranch in the Berkshires—a much better place for them.

But I’m not done with my soapbox. If you are new to gallery representation, here is a little advice.

Do your due diligence on the gallery. So many artists are just thrilled to have a gallery represent them that they don’t ask the necessary questions.

• Make sure you have a contract that clearly states who owns the artwork in case of bankruptcy.
• Contact other artists they represent and ask questions, lots and lots of questions.
• Be clear on the commission structure and when payment is due.
• Who is responsible for shipping the work to/from the gallery?
• What happens if the work is damaged?
• Do they properly insure the work?
• Will they put you on their web site? Send out introductory newsletters? Will they create postcards of your work?
• What sort of social media do they do? Will you and your work be included?
• Really think about if your work is the right fit for the gallery. Are they experimenting with a new direction by accepting your work?
• Do they respond to your emails in a timely manner?
• Are they willing to get to know you so they can respond to a potential buyer who has questions about you as an artist?
• Do you like them and want to build a relationship with them? (I suggest that you never do business with someone you don’t like.)
• If the relationship doesn’t feel right, get out.
• And most importantly, for us as encaustic artists, does the gallery understand the medium and how to handle it properly?

Having a gallery relationship can be a wonderful experience. Just make sure that you go into it as a businessperson and not a giddy teenager who has just been asked to the prom. Be smart. Remember, it’s your work (and investment) at risk.

Now back to our regularly scheduled program for next week.

I’d love to hear from you in the comments below. Tell us about your best experiences when it comes to gallery representation?

Be well….be creative,