What else do you have?

Last year a Potential Client emailed about buying some work. I replied with a list of galleries that represent me and advised that I also had studio inventory. He asked for studio inventory, specifically paint tubes.

I don’t recall what it was that tipped me off, but I had the feeling he was trying to back door one of my galleries. I directed him to the gallery. He replied that he had already been there, so I informed the gallery and asked them to deal with him.

Sketch for Artists’ Pencil Set (stubby)

Through the gallery I responded to a slew of questions: is this still available, what about that, how much for this, can you make something like that, and so on. I even made a sketch for a commission based on the Artists Color Pencil Set.

After a week of furious churning the gallery advised that the client wanted something to go with a blue sofa being delivered in January and was going to wait before making a purchase. Needless to say, nothing happened.

Members Only

Fast forward one year, almost to the day. The Poser (based on prior experience he’s no longer a Potential Client) inquires about the piece Members Only, including in the email a picture of it from my website. The piece is in my inventory.

Ruefully recalling the previous year’s charade I him offer it to him at full price with the intention of cutting a check to the gallery if it sells. I’m going to nip this back-door discount bullshit in the bud right away.

The Poser replies “Do you still work with ________ Gallery? Do they have any matchbooks?”

I send him pictures of the galley’s inventory. Then I call the gallery. “What? He was in here last weekend looking at your work!”

The Poser emails again: “What else do you have available?”

I reply (with a CC to the gallery) “please contact the gallery.” The Poser responds that he prefers the piece in my inventory that he originally inquired about. I ignore him. Then he emails me and the gallery, “Who should I deal with regarding the Members Only piece?”

The rest of the exchange went like this:

Gallery: With the gallery please.

Poser: Thank you. I wasn’t sure if that piece was in your possession. Do you have time to discuss this week? [He knew I had the piece]

Gallery: The work is not in our possession. We can obtain it from the artist if you’re interested. It is always the preference of the gallery and the artist that you deal with us directly; attempting to circumvent that relationship will not get you a better price or endear you to either party.

Poser: Let me be clear. I reached out to ______ who is no longer employed by your gallery. I then reached out to _____ who did not respond to me for a week. That is why I contacted Miles directly. Pointing an accusatory finger at me is does not endear yourself to me either. I own a lot of art and work with many galleries and artists. If you are not happy with the way I went about purchasing this piece, then I can find something else. Thanks again.

Gallery: I’m sorry if the gallery did not immediately respond to you. Going directly to our artists is unacceptable. If that’s a problem for you, that’s totally OK feel free to shop elsewhere.

Poser: It is not a problem for me but understand, if your team is unresponsive then there is nothing that prohibits me from reaching out to the artist directly. Mr. Jaffe has a website with contact details. There is nothing that says I can not send him a message. I am happy to work with a gallery but my hope is that they would be responsive and respectful. 

Gallery: Let’s not pretend like that’s what happening here; you have been in and out of the gallery for years. You have my contact information, the Gallery‘s phone number, and ____ was certainly not the issue. You saw what you believed was an opportunity to get yourself a better price and you took it. I get it. But I don’t need it.

I’m in full ignore mode now, I don’t want anything to do with this guy. In the meantime the piece has gone on hold for a REAL client. Then I get a call from another gallery, they’ve got somebody hot for Members Only.

“Is his name Poser?” Of course.

The Poser is raising the gallery’s hopes for a non-existent sale during a raging pandemic that has shattered normal economic activity. Now I have to burst the gallery’s bubble and explain the situation to them. The very last thing I need is some idiot screwing up my gallery relationships.

What other mischief can this fool cause? Just as I am reaching out to another of my galleries with a warning, they contact me about a guy named Poser who is looking for Members Only.

WTF is wrong with this jackass? He didn’t take the piece he wanted when it was offered to him. How do I stop this nonsense? Maybe if I offer to make him a variation of the piece he didn’t take (at a higher price, of course) and now so desperately wants he’ll bugger off. So I send him a polite note, apologizing that the piece is no longer available and offering him the opportunity to commission a unique variation of it.

His reply? “Thank you for your note. What else do you have?”

tire kicker

Art Fairs and The Economics of Art

[The Economics of Art]

For the most part, the art at art fairs reflects the changing whims of the ravenous hordes of investors banging on the door of the contemporary art world, looking to “flip” works of art like stocks. — Hyperallergic

I’m not sure if this was written out of hope or ignorance, but in either case it is dead wrong.

The “ravenous hordes” are those cashing in on artists who remain - as the foundation of the entire industry - at the bottom of the food chain. Some of the most egregious offenders are the Art Fairs themselves, which have found a way to insert themselves as yet another middleman into sales - or the hope of sales, to be more accurate.

Art fairs are highly profitable affairs - for the fairs, not necessarily for artists and galleries. Exhibition fees are steep and the additional costs for transport, travel, staffing, and lodging can make participation a dubious venture at best. It’s gotten so bad that many galleries have abandoned the fairs altogether or are charging artists to participate in them. Some formerly brick and mortar galleries now exist only on paper, having traded their rental overhead for the costs of participation in the fairs. Some artists have gone so far as to represent themselves as galleries, trading the art dealer’s commission for the art fair attendance fees (and the hope of sales).

Art fairs are the Uber of the art world, and the galleries are the drivers. The fairs provide (in theory at least) high volumes of traffic for the centralized shopping of curated art. In reality the curation is largely based on which galleries can afford to buy in. The vast majority of traffic is there for entertainment, not buying, and volume is subject to weather. Attendance figures are like box office receipts; a fair’s success is measured by the number of visitors.

The shift in the marketing of art from galleries to art fairs has most obviously come at the financial expense of the galleries. But the negative effects go far beyond the cost. The vast quantity of work displayed - often of questionable merit - is overwhelming and dulls the senses, and is multiplied by the sheer number of often simultaneous art fairs.

Art galleries face enormous competition at the fairs: rather than having an identity and place within a local community, galleries are placed in stall in what amounts to an international flea market. For quality galleries collector relationships are critical and client lists are fiercely guarded. Personal relationships are typically not built at fairs, except maybe with the art fair staff. Some galleries try to poach artists from other galleries - they look for what is selling (or supposedly selling, as not all Red Dots are genuine).

The artwork itself is at risk not just from shipping damage but also from excessive handling under high pressure in ridiculously small time frames. The necessity of a gallery to sell anything to help recoup the costs can have a negative effect on the artists in the form of high discounts - which not only can mean less for the artist but devalues the work as well (note to artists: have a clear consignment agreement that specifies the maximum allowable discount).

In the end it comes down to separating hype (as quoted in the Hyperallergic article above) from reality.

The second-worst thing that can happen to your work ...

[Artists’ Color Series paint tubes individually wrapped in preparation for shipping.]

The second worst thing that can happen to an artist’s work is damage (we won’t go into the worst thing here). Sculpture in particularly is difficult to ship - bulky, heavy, often fragile - and requires careful packing to protect it.

Art handlers generally do not have insurance for damage to the work, which is typically covered by the policy of the gallery or the artist (if they can afford it). Regardless, it is far better to be over-packed than to have to deal with damage. Accordingly I pack my work carefully with an eye to surviving everything up to getting stabbed with a forklift.

Each of my paint tubes is quadruple wrapped in 1/2” bubble wrap with extra protection at the ends. For domestic shipping the tubes are solidly packed (to prevent movement) inside a foam-cushioned, plywood-lined extra-heavy duty double-wall cardboard box. This may sound like overkill but I have yet to have any significant damage to work shipped this way despite evidence of serious mishandling such as shipped standing on end (despite clearly labeled arrows pointing UP) and holes bashed through the plywood(!).

[A typical plywood-lined, solidly-packed box waiting for pickup at my studio.]

Now you would think that a gallery receiving work packed this way would take note and document the packing method. You would also think that the gallery would save the packing material to reuse when sending the work to a buyer or returning it to the artist. Alas. Such simple, logical, responsible behavior is beyond the New York gallery that returned 4 paint tubes to me like this:

[How I received the work back.]

[Nice packing job.]

The work was damaged, of course. And the response of gallery owner, who claimed to have personally packed the work and instructed the art mover to transport it standing on end? “That’s impossible. I’m not paying out of pocket for that!”

Look - shit happens, I get it. The question is not whether you made a mistake, but how you deal with it. This particular gallery owner blamed the damage on “defective work” despite the repeated shipping of 23 works between galleries in NY and LA and art fairs from Miami to Chicago, Syracuse to Palm Springs, all without damage.

Imagine how different this would have been if the gallery owner had said “I’m sorry. What can we do to make this right?”

---

ARTIST TIP: Make sure your consignment agreement specifies that the gallery insures the work and is responsible for all damages while in their care, including during shipping. Carefully document everything with paperwork such as shipping / delivery receipts and photographs. Also research state law where you exhibit as many states have laws designed to protect artists from the egregious behavior of galleries like this one. New York for example describes the gallery as a fiduciary, with the same level of legal responsibility as the executor of an estate.

Biennale di Venezia

Can’t I just get a Publisher’s Clearinghouse Entry instead?

I'm Viola Persico, Project Coordinator of ITSLIQUID GROUP. We have visited your website and we are very interested in showing your artworks, during the next exhibition:

ANIMA MUNDI FESTIVAL, international exhibition of photography, painting, video art, installation/sculpture and performance art, that will be held in Venice, at THE ROOM Contemporary Art Space and in other prestigious venues and historical buildings, in the months between May and November 2019, during the same period of the 58th Biennale di Venezia. ANIMA MUNDI consists of 3 main events, RITUALS, CONSCIOUSNESS and VISIONS. The deadline for the submission is April 7, 2019.

To confirm your participation please:
- read terms and conditions on the official website of ANIMA MUNDI FESTIVAL;
- send us a proposal about the artworks you would like to present (with names, dimensions, technique - you may show as many works as you want, including existing and new ones);

The application proposal is completely free. If selected, there is a participation fee related to the number and dimensions of the artworks selected. The fee covers the venues’ renting, the global and local press office, the design and the printing of invitation cards, posters, the realization of the exhibition website and dedicated articles, mounting, dismounting and packaging service, opening organization and ceremony, hostess service and collaborators during the whole festival, the publication of a printed catalogue that will include all the participants.

All artists, architects and designers interested in taking part in our shows are free to be sponsored and supported by institutions, organizations, private sponsors and their delegates; the logos of their sponsors will be included in all the communication (digital and printed) of the events. If you are planning to visit our locations in Venice, contact us by email at lucacurci@lucacurci.com or by phone at +39.3387574098

Looking forward to hearing your response, we are at disposal to give you all detailed information.

Best regards,
Viola Persico
Project Coordinator

viola.itsliquid@gmail.com

At first read - WOW, the Venice Biennale! Oh, wait a minute, they’re just showing at the same time. OK, let’s check the terms and conditions on the official website of ANIMA MUNDI FESTIVAL (no link supplied). A search returned https://www.itsliquid.com/, which has (of course) no “terms and conditions”. More searching turned up this:

Luca Curci and the ArtExpo Scam
Liquid Group

Apparently after you send them your work at your own expense, they start charging you exhibition fees.