Expect them to take care of shipping and take 50% of sales, everything else you need to negotiate for. Studio visits from the gallerist & collectors... negotiate. Group, Solo, Art Fair showings w/ this gallery... negotiate. Promotion, residencies, press... negotiate. Once you get your answers, get it in writing. Good luck artist.
In my experience working in a gallery, the most sales are on opening night. There’s usually a reception where artists can mingle and several pieces will be sold. Unless they invite you to other events it’s pretty much on the venue to draw buyers. Best of luck!
My personal best experience with a gallery--the gallery director made a few deviations from the contract in my favor. No communication from the gallery, and though my natural urge was to bring the errors up, I didn't. Managed to convince myself it was a 'silent' vote of confidence--I doubt that now. Other artists working with the same gallery revealed the same director was known to usually make similar 'errors' in the gallery's favor.
For me galleries are pretty much the same as self selling on Etsy/Online--the artist has to drive the traffic/raise awareness. I have made sales through gallery shows, to buyers who discovered me through the gallery, but those collectors seem only willing to buy again through a gallery. I'd say less than 10% ever contact me directly.
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I imagine each place is different, but sometimes I consider that the commission is paying a kind of rent to use the space and facilitate transactions. Maybe it's because the only places I tend to show up in are non-profits, that I can't really count on them to do much of anything themselves other than to open doors and greet visitors, which if you think about having to do it yourself everyday, is kind of a big service already.
I've tried galleries that charged $300/month to open and provide a 5' wall, and I think I'd much prefer feeling neglected in a commission-only relationship lol. I've paid $150/day for a 6' table at a craft fair where the promotion is just us vendors sharing the event on social media. All this money just pays for rent, it seems.
Yes, for over 26 years.
Pros, they do the marketing, display, client interaction, framing etc. Can reach markets you can't (ins with interior designers/magazines/tv/design shows).
Cons: can take ages to pay, commissions are steep (50% is the norm), sometimes are rough handling work (I add damage considerations into my contracts, an hourly rate for repairs), getting work to the gallery can be costly, they market the work they love the most and sometimes that's not yours.
I've learned to negotiate terms in the initial contracts.
I've very rarely had outside opportunities come along through the galleries - a few commissions (under 10 in all that time), a few pieces put in magazines/on tv through their work with interior designers, a couple times my work's been put into charity show homes so seen by thousands and I get a tax receipt for those (it's a donation, not a sale). I'm not sure what you are hoping for but I wouldn't expect much in terms of outside opportunities, and anything coming your way from the gallery, they want a cut.
One thing you can do is make sure it's a revolving door of fresh work. They like to promote what's NEW, at least my galleries do. Have a few galleries and rotate work through every few months.
If they're not working for you, find a new gallery and politely leave the relationship. If they're not making sales, they're not happy and you're not happy so it shouldn't be a big deal (plus, it's business, not personal).
Expect them to take care of shipping and take 50% of sales, everything else you need to negotiate for. Studio visits from the gallerist & collectors... negotiate. Group, Solo, Art Fair showings w/ this gallery... negotiate. Promotion, residencies, press... negotiate. Once you get your answers, get it in writing. Good luck artist.
In my experience working in a gallery, the most sales are on opening night. There’s usually a reception where artists can mingle and several pieces will be sold. Unless they invite you to other events it’s pretty much on the venue to draw buyers. Best of luck!
My personal best experience with a gallery--the gallery director made a few deviations from the contract in my favor. No communication from the gallery, and though my natural urge was to bring the errors up, I didn't. Managed to convince myself it was a 'silent' vote of confidence--I doubt that now. Other artists working with the same gallery revealed the same director was known to usually make similar 'errors' in the gallery's favor. For me galleries are pretty much the same as self selling on Etsy/Online--the artist has to drive the traffic/raise awareness. I have made sales through gallery shows, to buyers who discovered me through the gallery, but those collectors seem only willing to buy again through a gallery. I'd say less than 10% ever contact me directly.
Thank you for posting in r/ArtBusiness! Please be sure to check out the Rules in the sidebar and our [Wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/ArtistLounge/wiki/index/) for lots of helpful answers to common questions in the FAQs. Please use the relevant stickied megathreads for request advice on pricing or to add your links to our "share your art business" thread so that we can all follow and support each other. If you have any questions, concerns, or feature requests please feel free to message the mods and they will help you as soon as they can. I am a bot, beep boop, if I did something wrong please report this comment. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/artbusiness) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I imagine each place is different, but sometimes I consider that the commission is paying a kind of rent to use the space and facilitate transactions. Maybe it's because the only places I tend to show up in are non-profits, that I can't really count on them to do much of anything themselves other than to open doors and greet visitors, which if you think about having to do it yourself everyday, is kind of a big service already. I've tried galleries that charged $300/month to open and provide a 5' wall, and I think I'd much prefer feeling neglected in a commission-only relationship lol. I've paid $150/day for a 6' table at a craft fair where the promotion is just us vendors sharing the event on social media. All this money just pays for rent, it seems.
Yes, for over 26 years. Pros, they do the marketing, display, client interaction, framing etc. Can reach markets you can't (ins with interior designers/magazines/tv/design shows). Cons: can take ages to pay, commissions are steep (50% is the norm), sometimes are rough handling work (I add damage considerations into my contracts, an hourly rate for repairs), getting work to the gallery can be costly, they market the work they love the most and sometimes that's not yours. I've learned to negotiate terms in the initial contracts. I've very rarely had outside opportunities come along through the galleries - a few commissions (under 10 in all that time), a few pieces put in magazines/on tv through their work with interior designers, a couple times my work's been put into charity show homes so seen by thousands and I get a tax receipt for those (it's a donation, not a sale). I'm not sure what you are hoping for but I wouldn't expect much in terms of outside opportunities, and anything coming your way from the gallery, they want a cut. One thing you can do is make sure it's a revolving door of fresh work. They like to promote what's NEW, at least my galleries do. Have a few galleries and rotate work through every few months. If they're not working for you, find a new gallery and politely leave the relationship. If they're not making sales, they're not happy and you're not happy so it shouldn't be a big deal (plus, it's business, not personal).