Marketing Mondays: 6 Degrees of Representation

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[This is the last Marketing Mondays post of the year. Reports from Miami will begin later this week and continue throughout December. MM will resume on January 3, 2011. ].

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 We're talking gallery representation, not rocket science, but this picture does make a point, which is that while the sun is that big hot thing in the middle of the solar system, there's plenty going on in the outer orbits

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So you’ve got a painting in a gallery show for the first time. Or a new gallery has taken a work of yours to an art fair. What’s your relationship to the gallery? Are you represented? What do you owe the gallery and what does it owe you? Nancy Baker suggested this excellent topic. Let me see if I can do it justice.

1. Represented Artists

You’re a represented artist if you’re on the gallery website and included in the regular rotation for a solo show. In a gallery that represents 20 or 30 artists, your rotation may not come up more than once every three years, but a gallery that is working hard to represent you will find ways to keep your work visible: online, in the viewing room, with a special project, with inclusion in the occasional group show. You probably have some kind of contract with the gallery—a written document or verbal agreement—that defines your mutual relationship. (Contracts: the subject for an MM post in the new year.) Typically there’s some degree of exclusivity, regional perhaps, and an understanding that the gallery gets first dibs on your new work.

2. The Inner Circle

If “represented artist” is the center of concentric rings of representation, the "inner circle" of representation is the center of the center. Artists who sell well, or with whom the dealer has a good relationship, may find they get more: a better time slot, an ad (or a larger ad) to promote a show; a review because the dealer goes to bat extra hard for the artist; their work featured at an art fair; inclusion in a special project. Chances are that if you’re one of the gallery’s “difficult” artists—always late with deadlines, never happy with anything the gallery does, you know the personality type—you won’t be part of the inner circle.

3. Affiliated Artists

Now let's move to the first outer ring. Not every artist exhibited by a gallery is represented. Sometimes the artists are listed as Affiliated, Invited or Guest Artists or another such designation, and sometimes they're not listed at all. The status is intentional on the part of the dealer, and it may be equally intentional on the part of the artist.

“Including an artist in a couple of group shows over time is an opportunity for me to try out new work, to see if collectors respond. It’s also a chance for me to see what it’s like to work with a particular artist,” says a New York dealer who asked not to be named. “Since many artists, especially new or younger artists, don’t always understand the nature of the relationship, we make it clear when we invite them to participate in a show that ours is a ‘limited partnership.’”  
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Has an artist ever made the jump from exhibited artist to represented artist? “Occasionally,” says the dealer. “But it’s different with every gallery.”
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Speaking from my own experience, I have good collegial associations with several galleries that have shown my work more than once. For a gallery it’s a good way to show a lot of artists without the commitment. For an artist so involved, it’s a good way to show widely and increase the network for sales without being tied down. In short, it’s like dating before you get serious. Typically there’s no contract involved and little in the way of post-exhibition responsibility to the gallery, though if you are approached after the fact by someone wanting to acquire a work that was shown, let the gallery make the sale. And definitely keep the gallery apprised of solo shows elsewhere, of reviews, of other recent achievements. Everybody likes a winner.

Also from an artist’s point of view, it’s a chance to see how the gallery performs for you. Does the gallery pay to have the work shipped there? Do they handle it carefully? Do they return your phone calls or emails in a timely manner? Do they find ways to include your work in their projects? Do they sell the work you send them? Good!  Do they let your work go out with careless consultants who return it damaged? Do you have to send a stream of emails before you get a response? Not good. You don’t want to continue an association with dealers who reveal themselves to be less than totally professional.

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4. Tangential Representation

Not every relationship is destined for gallery representation or affiliation. There are many perfectly legitimate tangential associations. Here are two examples:

. You had an affiliation with a gallery that is now closed. The dealer may now be working as a consultant, or directing a curatorial program. You may find yourself included in projects as a result of the relationship.  I had a relationship with a short-lived gallery in the Midwest that resulted in a several good gallery sales and a big post-exhibition commission. I’ve remained friends with the owner, who is no longer in the business of selling art—but his friends buy art and he has brokered a few sales.  

. Your work was sold by a dealer as part of a package to a client.  A hard-working art dealer might put together a selection of works to show a client, often a corporate consultant who is looking to acquire a number of works of a specific type for a large project. To complete the package, the dealer may borrow work from another gallery, usually one whose owner she is friends with. You might be an artist whose work was included this way. (When the sale is made, Dealer #1 and Dealer #2 split the 50% commission.) It’s also possible the dealer found you as the result of an internet search or through the recommendation of a gallery artist or perhaps even the client himself. 

Sometimes tangential relationships develop into something more; sometimes they remain tangential. If you are developing a “portfolio” of representation (another topic for an upcoming MM), the tangential relationship, cultivated as such, can be beneficial to both you and the dealer. I would not expect to be working with a contract in this situation, just a consignment agreement.

5. One-shots

When a gallery curates a thematic show, it often invites artists working outside of its orbit, so to speak, to participate. (Postcards are a great way to bring your work to a dealer's attention.)  Congratulations if you've been invited. It’s always nice to have your work shown in good company by a good gallery. One-shot inclusion can be a way to fatten your resume, broaden your network, break into a new city. You never know who’s going to see your work in the venue.  Attend the opening, make new friends, and enjoy being part of the exhibition. A contract should be for the duration of the show; that’s all.

Given the economic climate, it’s wise of dealers to expand their parameters with new work and new artists. It’s also wise of an artist in this situation to understand the nature of the relationship, which is that it is unlikely to lead to something more permanent.  (Again, like dating.) But you never know . . . .
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6. Inventory

You have work at a gallery—prints, let’s say—that sell well to consultants and corporate collectors. You’re not listed on the gallery’s roster, perhaps not even included in group shows, but your work fits a niche for the gallery’s sales program, and you get a check regularly.  This may not be the relationship you want with every gallery, but it's not a bad relationship to have.

(If you are more well known, you may find yourself "represented" by a gallery that shows your prints. The gallery probably acquired the prints through the publisher. In this scenario even Picasso is an inventory artist.)

If you show widely, you probably have different relationships with different galleries, represented by one, perhaps, and showing occasionally in another. In an upcoming MM I’ll talk about the “portfolio” of representation you might develop. What? You think only galleries can have a roster?  

Over to you: Artists, tell us your experiences in the solar system of representation. Dealers, please tell us about those outer rings from the gallery's point of view. Anonymous comments welcome.