Meeting with a Chelsea Gallery

Although certainly not true for all artists, many have a strong desire to show their work in Chelsea, the Manhattan neighborhood where hundreds of contemporary art galleries are located.  It is debatable, but for many the art capital of the world still resides in New York.  Being shown in a Chelsea gallery is a sort of validation – for better or worse – that your work matters.  For those who live outside of NYC, this validation can be a game changer.  Your local galleries may view you and your work differently.  Your peers may give you greater respect.  It can be like taking a giant step forward with your practice.  Personally, I’ve longed to show in NYC for several years.  While I have much respect for the art scene in Washington, D.C., there just isn’t much room to maneuver.  There are a few galleries in D.C. that might be a good fit for my work.  In NYC, there are dozens.

The toughest challenge for artists is how to make a connection with a Chelsea gallery.  You will hear any number of strategies.  Over the past few years, I’ve tried several of them and they’ve treated me fairly well.  As a result, I have relationships with several gallery owners and directors.  But as of yet, no show opportunities.

Last fall, I began hearing about a new gallery in Chelsea that was making a bit of a splash.  I learned that the gallery would be giving a two-person show to a friend of mine and a solo to another friend, both of whom make work in a similar genre as I do.  I took a look at the exhibition schedule and found that every show indicated a likelihood that the gallery owners may be receptive to my work.  I discovered on their website that they had a submission policy and I gathered up some of my strongest images and sent them off.  I’ve done this several times before and usually received no response.

This time was different.  The gallery director wrote back and expressed interest in my work.  Based on what she said, it was clear she spent a lot of time looking at my website.  She stated that she would love to meet me in person and see my work.  She even hinted at a possible exhibition opportunity in early 2010.  I was ecstatic and followed up immediately.  We continued a sporadic dialog for a month or two.

When I began creating my new Clear Coat pieces, I sent an update to the gallery sharing the new work.  The response, this time, was colder.  Again, the images of the new work seemed to actually turn someone off (this happened with two galleries around the same time).  Like I’ve said before, there’s a huge difference between the jpeg and the actual work.

I left for the Vermont Studio Center in early January still without a firm meeting scheduled.  Bolstered by the great feedback received at the residency, I emailed the gallery again letting them know what I was up to.  This time, the dialog warmed back up.  I was asked to let them know when I’d be back from Vermont.  Obediently, in early February I emailed them again letting them know I was back home and sharing news from the residency.  The next email back requested my availability for an in-person meeting for early April.  They wanted to see work from my Holes series.  After some back and forth, the meeting was scheduled for April 8.

I found myself very nervous and unsure about what works to bring with me.  Ultimately I decided on an assortment of pieces ranging from 6″ x 6″ to 36″ x 36″.  I brought seven pieces from the Holes series and since I had a captive audience, I brought two new Clear Coat pieces and two new Paintings.  I started out on the five-hour drive early that Thursday morning and pulled into Chelsea with some time to spare.  The meeting was scheduled for 4pm.

At 4pm I pulled up in front of the gallery building and turned on the flashers.  I went upstairs to the gallery and introduced myself.  I was instructed to bring the work to the freight elevator.  In the gallery (a small space), they set up a couple of chairs and a table.  While I left to find a parking space, they asked if they could begin unwrapping the work.  Sure!  Ultimately I had to park in a garage and I hiked it back to the gallery where I found most of the work unwrapped and the director and owner looking it over.  No time for small talk!

The next 90 minutes flew by.  They carefully looked at each piece I brought.  They asked questions.  I tried my best to answer them.  It was actually a lot of fun.  The owner had to leave early and the director and I continued the conversation.  She clearly had a strong opinion about what work she liked better than others.  As I unwrapped more work, I handed the director a binder that had images of other works I’d made.  This was a huge hit and I can’t recommend enough how helpful this binder is.  I’ve made sales from the binder and now a gallery director was oohing and ahhing over some of the images.  Now that she had real work in front of her, she was better able to visualize the work in the images.  Work that was sold had a red dot next to the title to indicate it was sold.  I have to imagine that seeing so many red dots was a good thing for the director.  She began picking out favorite works and even snapping quick pictures of my images.

As our meeting wrapped up and I began packaging my work, she began talking about my exhibition schedule this year (pretty busy… details to come) and about how the gallery likes to schedule their shows.  She said she would discuss my work with the owner and that we should keep in touch.  The conclusion of the meeting seemed to go well and I left excited.

Once back home I emailed the owner and director and thanked them for their time.  They said they enjoyed the meeting and would be in touch.  I took this to mean that they would be thinking about our schedules and show possibilities.  However, until something is scheduled and a contract signed, I will keep my expectations in check.  Of course, though, I hope to show with this gallery.  I hope to be able to have a concentrated showing of my work in NYC for friends, collectors, curators, and critics to see.  I hope this can be an introduction to the NYC market.

Regardless of the outcome, the meeting was thrilling and great preparation for future ones.  I take it as a great compliment that a gallery would want to meet with me.  At a minimum, it means they like and respect the work.

I will keep you updated on how things progress.  With any luck, I’ll announce an upcoming show for Chelsea.