on Wednesday, January 26th, jose freitas cruz said
from a certain perspective it can seem like a catch 22 but i still think it’s the way to advance, at least until such a stage when a serious gallery becomes interested in your work. many of us, i believe, are still on this side of the fence and are trying to make people have a look at our stuff. that, at least, is one of the big hurdles i have to overcome when i’m back in portugal and go gallery wooing. the galleries that i would hope would look have a different agenda. there are other galleries, more approachable, more receptive to new proposals, but they don’t have the same impact on an artist’s carreer. that is where i sense most of us in this forum fit in. we can collaborate with certain galleries, make our work known within a certain circuit, without giving-in to demands of exclusivity, high commissions, or feeling remorse for selling our work outside the gallery. for my part the prices i put on absolutearts are the prices i place on my works in a gallery – they are not cheaper on the net, they are only more visible and directly obtainable from me, that’s the way i choose to use this tool. if you keep prices within the same range no gallery at the level in which we are operating should raise objections to you promoting your work independently. sure enough as Markus states certain costs must be covered and if the gallery is diligent enough and provides certain minimum services 40/50% is justified... but that also should be where it ends, 40/50% on the pieces placed on commission in the gallery given the condition that an exhibition and perks ensue and that the artist remains in control of his remaining production. that would be just. however there are many galleries who do not have the clout and yet collect the 40/50% from sales without giving the artist much else in return. this is up to the artist to check and not fall into such traps lured simply by the prospect of joining a gallery at whatever cost. you don’t go looking for a good gallery, a good gallery finds you. at this stage we are still more or less free to manage our own careers and the last thing we want to do is limit our options. with the internet and in collaboration with certain galleries it is possible to make our work more broadly known until the right people notice it [good gallerists and art collectors do shop around occasionaly]. then the tough decisions will have to be made... but that’s only something i dream of in my wildest dreams.
on Wednesday, January 26th, Tennesy Hiberian said
To the attention of Mr. Kruse:
Your advice is to join both traditional and online galleries. I just don't see how this works. By showing online without the commisions, a person is basically undercutting the traditional gallery. Why buy from the gallery when a direct from artist via the internet, purchase will save much money.
Mostly what I'm aware of is selling on the internet are low priced items. For an artist to sell at these low prices, this practice may lower the marketprice of the work to where a traditional gallery would be reluctant to carry the work.
Sort of a catch 22 isn't it?
on Wednesday, January 26th, Victor Demin said
I already several years tried to sell my painting through internet. But in my country is weak internet and much economic difficulties. This prevents for such possibility. So- there is difficulties with money order. But I think this there is best way for artist. This does his free. But there is problem for collector and buyer. Is difficult to see on screen of the computer the quality of painting and its colour. Any computer breaks a little the colour. ? for painting colour there is the most main. But buyer often wants else low price and does not understand whole big labour of the persisting artist.
on Wednesday, January 26th, Victor Demin said
I already several years tried to sell my painting through internet. But in my country is weak internet and much economic difficulties. This prevents for such possibility. So- there is difficulties with money order. But I think this there is best way for artist. This does his free. But there is problem for collector and buyer. Is difficult to see on screen of the computer the quality of painting and its colour. Any computer breaks a little the colour. ? for painting colour there is the most main. But buyer often wants else low price and does not understand whole big labour of the persisting artist.
on Monday, January 24th, Markus Kruse said
I am not sure that the comment on 50 - 60% commissions in art galleries is fair. It is not unreal to charge 50-60% when you consider the overhead costs of running a professional traditional art gallery. Who pays for the space, the upkeep, the marketing of the gallery and artists' exhibitions???, the advertising, the utilities, the openings, the..., ...
The costs of running a professional gallery are often combined with many hidden costs that a lot of artists do not "want" to recognize. I think that commissions of 70 - 80% are a "little" out of place... but then I have seen those in NYC, too.
Artists need to recognize that they are part of a group/stable in a gallery setting, online and offline. They will be rotated in a certain manner, their exhibitions will take place every year or two, provided they can produce enough quality work and the gallery can sell enough of it. You cannot expect the gallery or any other place just like absolutearts.com or wwar.com to concentrate just on you, the one artist that is having an exhibition at the gallery. The advantage of the online gallery is that we can provide marketing to all artists at the same time that you could not do in a traditional gallery setting. The artists' exhibition is taking place 24/7, 365 days a year. The online gallery offers a world wide audience, versus the limitations of the traditional gallery.
The challenge is to join the two, traditional and online.
on Monday, January 24th, tsouth1031@aol.com">Tiffany Southall
said
(Mari Lyons - Featured by First Street Gallery)
