Discuss: Art gallery red flags | BrushBuzz by Canvoo

bsherwin: When researching an art gallery (with potential representation in mind)... what red flags do you look for? In other words, how do you decide if the gallery is 'right' for you? How do you discover if the gallery is operated professionally? How do you know if the gallery will benefit you? (I have an article in mind... feedback on this would be great).

	Jackie via faso.com	10 months ago
	I mentioned this recently Brian, that the important thing to me is that the gallery can sell. I would go into the gallery first as a potential customer and see how I was treated. For example, Andy recently went to visit a gallery we thought might be suitable for his work. On their website, it said they opened at eleven. Andy waited there until quarter past then called the number. The man who answered was quite brusque. At this time he didn't know if Andy was a rich collector or not. When the man eventually showed up, he had the same manner. He brushed Andy aside saying he had an important appointment that he needed to prepare for. As far as he knew, Andy could have had ten grand burning a hole in his pocket. This wasn't the place for us! We've been into many other galleries as potential customers and been more or less ignored. I don't see the point in being somewhere that doesn't have good staff. It would be so frustrating. We have also rejected a gallery that had really bad presentation - the place looked like a junk shop. To be fair, an artist friend who has work there also warned us that the place doesn't sell his work well. But our artwork is so different to his, that was only a minor consideration. I also like to see galleries that actively promote their artists and again, I rarely see that. This being said, there is one fantastic gallery locally that I'd love to be in but they don't want us :)

	Brian Sherwin via faso.com	10 months ago
	Jackie -- That is one thing I can't stand... a gallery that does not operate during listed hours. Why list hours if those hours are not followed? Blah.

	Jackie via faso.com	10 months ago
	It's very pretentious. Another thing I discovered recently was to check what those hours are. When we had our first (and only to date!) one man exhibition, it started on a Thursday evening end ended the following Thursday. We promoted it like crazy as a one week exhibition. What we didn't know was that the gallery was closed on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday; on those days it was 'by appointment'. A lot of people told us that they had gone to the gallery on those days, including some pretty important people. It's our fault though - we should have checked.

	Brian Sherwin via faso.com	10 months ago
	OUCH! I've been told of situations like that before. In one situation the artist went by the hours listed on a sheet with gallery info. Unfortunately, the information was outdated. Which reminds me of another problem -- and I've seen this a number of times over the years.... galleries that change their hours and fail to change the listed hours on their window/door. To be fair... I've seen other small businesses do the same thing. Blah.

	Pat via faso.com	10 months ago
	I check with artists already IN with the gallery I'm perusing. My first question is do they honor their contract by paying on time? Then the questions about promotion, regular hours, personalities, etc. If they have trouble paying their artists, then every other aspect of their business is suspect - pure and simple.

	Jackie via faso.com	10 months ago
	I guess that's the great thing about galleries that don't have good sales staff! We were at the gallery at every minute it was open. We processed sales ourselves via our iPhones. The staff didn't even notice; they were too busy on their laptops or on their phones. Should we have given the gallery its commission? Morally, yes. But WE created the sales. We processed the sales. Left to the staff, we would have sold nothing. During the week (well, a few days)WE sold sixteen artworks. Did the gallery deserve commission? Yes, for giving us the space? Its a dilemma. If we wanted to have a long-term relationship with the gallery then yes. But ... The gallery is closing at the end of this month and I'm not surprised.