Along with being a long time painter, I have also served as a nonprofit gallery director and curated exhibits at many diverse venues. I remember what it means to be an amateur artist, pursuing the ideal gallery while fumbling along the way. I also deal with artists directly in the coordination of art shows and publications, and am familiar with the frustrations that come from neglecting the details and guidelines, many issues mentioned in this article and in our interviews with other fellow gallerists.
May these simple tips help you do the same along your artistic pursuits. This should go without saying —Be polite. In communicating with your gallerist, a pleasant attitude makes all the difference and may even determine whether they will want to work with you again in the future. Be both respectful and grateful for the time they are affording you amidst their busy schedule, whether you are given a show or not.
A humble attitude is more attractive than that of the diva artist- you are not the only talented artist in the room and no matter how good your art is, the gallerist would much rather continue doing business with those that are easy to work with.
Always research a gallery thoroughly before making an inquiry. Have a browse through their past, current and future exhibitions to see if your aesthetic is a good match. It may be that they are not accepting submissions and this should be respected; in other cases there are instructions on how to submit and this must be properly adhered to.
Which leads me to the important tip below. Such details may include the preferred word count of an artist statement, the resolution of an image file, hanging specifications, or how files or physical artworks should be sent. Read guidelines and emails two or three times over if you have to. They are often simultaneously dealing with numerous correspondences and keeping up with the business end, therefore having to go back and reiterate their needs to an artist can be frustrating.
