Getting Gallery Ready

Navigating art galleries doesn’t have to be a daunting experience.

We sat down with Imprimo Art Advisor and seasoned curator Liza Zhurkovskaya (aka Curator On the Go), and she shared her expert tips to help you feel more confident approaching galleries, building the right relationships, and making sales.

How to Approach Galleries

As artists, it’s easy to get so caught up trying to figure out what galleries want from us that we neglect what we want from them. Selecting a gallery whose mission statement and goals align with yours is important for that business relationship to last.

Don’t limit your choice of galleries to those with a specific genre. In the post-pandemic market and economy, galleries want to buy fresh, different work to sell to their collectors. A diverse inventory helps galleries drive sales, and that’s where you come in.

And finally, make sure you do your research on the gallery. Do they present themselves well? What’s their reputation like for how they treat their artists? Having the answers to these questions helps you stay clear of engaging with galleries that aren’t for you.

Getting in Touch with the Gallery

Once you’ve found a gallery you want to work with, it’s time to contact them. While the old-school ‘walk-right-in’ method may have once worked wonders, floor staff and curators are busy, so start with an email. Craft a concise, engaging artist statement and send a respectful message with a personalized approach. Attach a link to your Imprimo profile, making sure you’ve customized it with a biography, CV, timeline, and artwork to ensure the gallery can see your whole story.

When they reply, you’re halfway there! Be prepared to articulate your artistic vision and be open to constructive feedback. This is your opportunity to give a glimpse of what it’s like to work with you — so be your authentic self, but be cool. Remember, nobody wants to work with a pushover or someone who can’t take feedback.

Let’s Talk Money

It’s crucial never to decrease your prices when submitting to galleries. While competitive pricing is important, in a glamorous industry like art, proper signalling (ensuring your art is seen as an exclusive luxury good) is just as important. Consider raising your prices a 3–5% every year, depending on performance, to let galleries and collectors know your work is in demand.

While there are many different types of exhibition venues for your art, the three main types of galleries are commercial, pay-to-play, and online.

Pay-To-Play

These commercial spaces rent their wall space to you for a fee, in addition to a 10–30% commission. These galleries rarely offer marketing, as this is designed for artists who already have a fan following and would rather not pay 50% commissions to a commercial gallery. This “who-can-pay-first” business model isn’t usually designed to showcase your work in the best, curated manner. We suggest avoiding pay-to-play galleries.

Commercial Galleries

This is what comes to most people’s minds when they think of an “art gallery.” These galleries take up to a 50% commission but can be very advantageous due to the sheer amount of publicity you’ll gain working with them. Reputable commercial galleries generally employ trained curators who showcase your work to drive sales and foot traffic. Gallery patrons often consist of collectors and other industry folk, presenting ample opportunities for building your network. Galleries often build ongoing partnerships if your work sells well, offering artists consignment or cash-advance deals. Galleries also help put in a word for you at museums and other galleries, as this helps to boost their reputation if they’re known for working with successful artists.

Online Galleries

Online galleries vary in reputation and usually function more like marketplaces. If you want to connect with a commercial gallery, they might see your involvement with online galleries as a conflict of interest, which will work against you. However, online galleries can be extremely beneficial if your goal is to reach as many people as possible with your art. They can offer novel opportunities for merchandising your art that often don’t exist in traditional commercial galleries.

How Imprimo Can Help

Now that you know more about working with galleries, it’s time to get out there and start connecting. Galleries love the clear and concise layout of a completed Imprimo profile, and adding documents and photographic evidence to support your CV events means they have to do less research on your work, making their lives much easier. Click here to complete your profile and send it to THREE galleries today.

Let us know how it goes by sharing your experience with info@imprimo.art