Introduction: The Ultimate FAQ on Art Galleries
Art galleries play a significant role in the art industry. They are the link between artists and collectors, scouting for new talent and continuing to showcase the best artists with their exhibition program. However, although art galleries are crucial in the art world, many misconceptions exist. In fact, art galleries are not always that well known, what they are or what they do.
Therefore, CAI has listed the most common questions on art galleries asked by the public. What is an art gallery? What are the different types of art galleries? What does an art gallery do? How do you get to work with an art gallery as an artist? How do art galleries work with artists? What is the difference between an art gallery and a museum? What are the best art galleries, and where to find them? How do art galleries earn money? How to visit an art gallery?
By answering these questions in this article, we are happy to present you with the ultimate list of frequently asked questions (FAQ) on art galleries, explaining absolutely everything you need to know.
Definition: What is an Art Gallery?
Whereas most of us know what an art museum is and what they do – more or less – when it comes to art galleries, it seems the public opinion is less familiar with them.
An art gallery is an exhibition space to display and sell artworks. As a result, the art gallery is a commercial enterprise working with a portfolio of artists. The gallery acts as the dealer representing, supporting, and distributing the artworks by the artists in question.
However, we must also note that not all galleries are the same. Although most art galleries work according to a similar method and organization, there are different types of art galleries implementing another procedure. In this case, we will have to discuss each type individually, presenting a thorough overview of what an art gallery is and in what shape or form it can present itself.
What are the Different Types of Art Galleries?
1. The Commercial Art Gallery
The most common type of art gallery is the commercial art gallery. Although the word ‘commercial’ may have a negative connotation as if they only care about the money, this is, in fact, the ‘best’ type of art gallery for artists or collectors, playing a crucial role in the art world.
With commercial art galleries, the gallery collaborates with several artists, agreeing to represent and support them. This means the gallery commits to showcasing, promoting, selling, and distributing the artworks of the artist in question. By doing so, the artist can make a living and build his career, collectors base, and artist resume.
In return, the gallery earns a commission with the sales of the artworks. By doing so, the gallery is motivated to do the best work possible for the artist, pushing their career and sales. A win-win! The gallery makes money, and so does the artist. The better the artists are promoted and grow their careers, the better the gallery’s reputation. In a nutshell, what is good for the artists is good for the gallery.
2. Mega-Galleries
Mega-galleries are commercial art galleries that continued to grow, becoming an industry-leading actor in the gallery industry and the entire art world. In our article on the Top 10 of the Biggest Art Galleries in the World, we have defined the ‘mega-gallery’ as a highly influential art gallery with multiple locations and a number of employees, and square meters of exhibition space similar to major museum institutions.
The mega-galleries are the top layer of the gallery industry. They represent only the very best artists in the world and do not only sell their artworks. They also advise institutions, events, and corporations in the art world.
3. Vanity Art Galleries
Up next, we have Vanity art galleries. Vanity art galleries charge the artists to exhibit and promote their work with the gallery. I would not call them art galleries as they do not have a curated gallery program.
Although this may seem appealing for artists trying to kickstart their career as an artist, I would advise them not to work with vanity galleries (make sure to read our article on How To Succeed as a Painter/Artist). Vanity Galleries rarely have an excellent reputation in the art world, nor do they have a good clientele or a solid collectors base. Hence they do not select artists based on the quality of the artworks but the size of their wallets. Most often, they would exhibit anyone and anything willing to pay for the exhibition. As a result, it is improbable to find genuinely exciting or emerging artists at Vanity galleries. At the same time, they are not motivated to promote and sell the artworks of the artists who decide to collaborate as they have already cashed in on the collaboration.
The gallery invites artists to exhibit with them, which may seem very appealing. But in reality, they squeeze the money from the artist by charging them tremendous amounts for the location and promotion services without actually being motivated to deliver a good service for the artists. So if one day you receive an invitation to work with an art gallery, think twice when they propose terms in which you need to pay to exhibit, as this might be the wrong way to go.
4. Exhibition Spaces
The fourth type of gallery is not a gallery but rather an exhibition space. In this case, the artist rents an exhibition space in which they can organize their exhibition. The artist pays rent per day or week and needs to take care of all the other aspects of the show, such as supervision, promotion, print work, invitations, et cetera.
These exhibition spaces are often referred to as art galleries, sometimes called ‘Gallery X’ or ‘Y Gallery’. However, as there is no curated gallery program and not even a gallery owner, they are simply spaces available for rent suited for organizing art exhibitions.
Doing so, they allow amateur or beginning artists to showcase their works and gather some experience when it comes to exhibiting. However, one can not expect the prestige of a self-organized exhibition in those spaces to be equal to an exhibition at a ‘real’ art gallery, such as a commercial art gallery.
5. Artist-Run Galleries
We conclude our list of types of art galleries with the artist-run art gallery. In the past few decades, we have seen multiple success stories of artist-run galleries. Think of Galeria Plan B initiated by Mihai Pop and Adrien Ghenie. In this case, artists or artist collectives start a gallery or exhibition space independently. The most common reason to do this is due to a lack of opportunities to exhibit, as they decide to create a platform of their own.
These initiatives take courage to realize; sometimes, it is a bit frowned upon. However, as the aforementioned case study illustrates, an artist-run art gallery can be highly successful and have as excellent a reputation as a commercial art gallery. Eventually, if the artist-run gallery gets on well, it will transform slowly but surely more into a commercial art gallery to continue to grow its activities.