Gallery Art
 

How does one go about getting their art sold in a gallery? I'm under the impression that it's very hard, and that you have to beg and plead.

Well I heard that you basically have to fill out a whole heap of paper work, then it goes to a board of delegates, they decide whether it's worthwhile to put your galleryin in some of the spare space or not.

THEN if anything is sold, the gallery takes 1/3 of the money.. O_o well that's how it's done in Australia apparently..

There's bascially two seperate routes -

1) On the more "amateur" side of things, you can rent a gallery space (or basically make one yourself). In this case you simply agree a price with someone who wants to buy your work (haggling is fairly typical so don't be offended by it). It is always best to have a rough price you're happy with worked out in your head beforehand - saying "I don't really know how much" isn't normally a good idea. As well as obvious things like how good your work is/how much the individual likes it, the pricing of work is generally contingent on -

Size (Larger = more valuable).
Materials used (Some materials are far more durable than others, which means the picture will last much better. All artwork on display will deteriorate over time).
Framing/lack of (Some people will like buying work that's pre-framed as it makes what they're buying feel more substantial, however frames are something that people's taste differ on wildly, so it's often better to sell unframed).
How well known you are as an artist.

2) On the more "professional" side of things, you either submit your work to a gallery and they agree to exhibit you, or more commonly you're invited to exhibit from them seeing your work previously. Many popular galleries will be booked for the next year or so, so aren't really interested in unsolicited submissions.

They all take a commission on the work you sell - this varies from gallery to gallery, but in the UK it's generally 50% outside of London and around 75% in London. However, galleries of this sort are generally much better to be exhibiting your work in. They are better known, have better facillities, and are frequented by people who actually want to buy artwork. They also have professionals working there to sell your work. Although the commission may sound high, they will normally get you a much higher price for a piece than you would have, and will sell more.

Whichever route you choose, bear in mind that in most countries selling your work this way is a taxable earning. Depending on the country's laws and how much tax you've evaded paying, if you fail to declare something and are later found out, you can face fines/jail.


The main thing with trying to get your art exhibited or published is, just go for it. Don't worry too much if you don't know the exact processes you have to go through. Just send off samples of your work - the worst that can happen is they won't reply.

I work in an art gallery in Portugal, and generally you just have to send your portfolio in and with some luck you'll get noticed, either that or you know someone who can get you in the door. It's tough. Other than that, you can rent places to exhibit, but that isn't going to get you noticed generally. The best way really is to persevere and if you ARE good, eventually you'll make it. You should go to a lot of exhibition openings and get to know people, eventually you will become known by the people who matter (collectors who go to openings, gallery owners, etc., it really is a very social game), and meet someone who can help you get into the good galleries.