Work Wasn't Picked for Gallery Show but They Want to Keep it

[hungariancontessa]

Yes,
I called the gallery owner to pick my work that wasn't selected for the show but they like it, and want to use it as filler when the other works are sold. I'm new at this so I am just starting to understand the ropes here. I would have felt more at ease if the owner would have explained this to me before.
Does this work like this all the time? :

[johnwalkeasy]

I would say that,s a common thing. And just because it was,nt picked for a show don,t mean that much. They want the work. And that means a lot. That,s a very good thing.

[Menolly]

It's great that they want to keep the work, but I still think it wouldn't kill the gallery owner to spend an ounce of effort on communication here. I mean, what if you hadn't wanted to get your work back? Would it have been hanging in their gallery without your even knowing?

[hungariancontessa]

Yes,
I wished that there would have been more of an explanation from the gallery owner on how this would have worked. I thought that if your work wasn't accepted or picked for that particular show then they didn't want the work and then you go to pick it up. Very vague.

[johnwalkeasy]

Dealing with art galliers is much like antthing else. When you need them. They will treat you one way. When they need you. They will treat you another way. Always treat them with respect. You are better than they are.

[Guenn Eona Nimue]

John says "Dealing with art galliers is much like anything else. When you need them. They will treat you one way. When they need you. They will treat you another way. Always treat them with respect. You are better than they are."

Hold on there, John! On a personal level, whenever someone I have known treated me one way when I needed them, and another way when they needed me, not only did they eventually get no respect from me, but I did not know them for very long either! Always treat them with respect? I think not. When people are rude and inconsiderate, as gallery owners are more often than not, there is only one remedy, give them a good tongue lashing if you get the chance, and be done with them. Respect, if it is to have any true meaning, must always be a two way street. When it is a one way street, it is not respect, but becomes, rather, a form of groveling for the attention of someone seeking to profit from your labor, sacrificing your dignity and demeaning yourself in the process. Not a healthy state of mind for an artist, or anyone else for that matter, to be in.


hungariancontessa writes “I called the gallery owner to pick my work that wasn't selected for the show but they like it, and want to use it as filler when the other works are sold.”

Filler? Are we talking about art, or spackling paste? Should you really feel gratitude for their offering to use your work to patch a hole in the wall? I have seen your work, and it does not appear to be spackling paste, it is art!

hungariancontessa writes “I wished that there would have been more of an explanation from the gallery owner on how this would have worked. I thought that if your work wasn't accepted or picked for that particular show then they didn't want the work and then you go to pick it up. Very vague.”

Not only vague, but rude and inconsiderate as well. Let me ask you this. Can you see yourself treating anyone else that way? Then be firm in not allowing anyone to treat you that way.


Sorry John, I know I can be a bit fiery, but this is the way I really feel. I know it may be seen as an unrealistic outlook from a "commercial" point of view by some, but it has kept me strong these many years. John is right about one thing, though, "You are better than they are."

Guenn