Art galleries are dying because they are greedy and dishonest and are not treating artists well. Artists are shifting to sales on the internet instead. One because they can by pass paying a 50% commission to the gallery owners and two because gallery owners are not what they used to be. In the 70's a gallery owner interested in an artist's work would visit his studio and if he/she decided to represent the artist, would buy one or two of their works on the spot and then draw up a contract that was beneficial to both parties. Artists received money up front and never had to offer anything more than their art. Gallery owners were in charge of bringing people to view the work and eventually buy it. They were agents and sales people.
Now gallery owners not only want you to bring your own clients, whom they then utilize to sell everybodys' work to, but to also pay their overhead costs by paying rent up front just for the pleasure of using their walls. In other words, the artist has to be both a creative person with resulting super sellable art, but also salesmen and business tycoon, selling their art while entertaining the collectors to boot.
A little unrealistic maybe? And yet the art that sells is not art with inherent value generally but because of how well an artist is able to schmooze and sell their ideas and themselves. That is why a skull with diamonds can fetch such outrages prices, because Damien Hirst is a super salesman...
So artists are now glued to the internet learning how to navigate the computer for the best showing and advertising of their works. After being immersed in technical issues all day, they have no head space or time to actually be creative, which requires both time and space.
It's no wonder artists either give up, or become super salesmen and try living off their sales, except in the end they will simply, along with their art, disappear into obscurity. Because that kind of art, not backed by art history, or integrity, becomes just another object on the market with no meaning outside of a wall paper decoration. A lot of abstract art amounted to just that...wall decorations...
Now gallery owners not only want you to bring your own clients, whom they then utilize to sell everybodys' work to, but to also pay their overhead costs by paying rent up front just for the pleasure of using their walls. In other words, the artist has to be both a creative person with resulting super sellable art, but also salesmen and business tycoon, selling their art while entertaining the collectors to boot.
A little unrealistic maybe? And yet the art that sells is not art with inherent value generally but because of how well an artist is able to schmooze and sell their ideas and themselves. That is why a skull with diamonds can fetch such outrages prices, because Damien Hirst is a super salesman...
So artists are now glued to the internet learning how to navigate the computer for the best showing and advertising of their works. After being immersed in technical issues all day, they have no head space or time to actually be creative, which requires both time and space.
It's no wonder artists either give up, or become super salesmen and try living off their sales, except in the end they will simply, along with their art, disappear into obscurity. Because that kind of art, not backed by art history, or integrity, becomes just another object on the market with no meaning outside of a wall paper decoration. A lot of abstract art amounted to just that...wall decorations...
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