How to Get Your Art Into a Gallery

You've created some art and you think it's good enough to show off and sell. Any artist worth their salt knows the only way to get a good sale and build a reputation is by selling your work at a gallery. But gallery owners are picky and hard to approach, so follow these tactics to get your art into a gallery.

Instructions

1

Get an art agent. An agent's job is to get your work out there in front of the public. These people have contacts in galleries and museums that people starting out in art do not have. They will, however, take a cut of any money you make. Decide whether their assistance is worth 10 percent of your sale.

2

If you plan to approach gallery owners yourself, make a CD of your work. This keeps you from having to lug your precious work from gallery to gallery, and it also helps if the manager is too busy to look at your work when you stop by. Take a digital camera, make high-quality photos of your work and burn them on a CD with your contact info.

3

Set realistic prices for your work. A gallery won't touch a piece that it thinks will not sell because of price. Go to galleries and look at similar work by new artists and see how much their work is selling for and price accordingly.

4

Find smaller places to sell your work first, like coffee shops, restaurants and art fairs. If you have some proven sales, a gallery is more likely to take a chance on you.

5

Seek out galleries with similar work and only approach them. If you make marble sculptures, going to a gallery that only sells oil paints will not do you much good.

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You've created some art and you think it's good enough to show off and sell. Any artist worth their salt knows the only way to get a good sale and build a reputation is by selling your work at a gallery. But gallery owners are picky and hard to approach, so follow these tactics to get your art into a gallery.

Instructions

1

Get an art agent. An agent's job is to get your work out there in front of the public. These people have contacts in galleries and museums that people starting out in art do not have. They will, however, take a cut of any money you make. Decide whether their assistance is worth 10 percent of your sale.

2

If you plan to approach gallery owners yourself, make a CD of your work. This keeps you from having to lug your precious work from gallery to gallery, and it also helps if the manager is too busy to look at your work when you stop by. Take a digital camera, make high-quality photos of your work and burn them on a CD with your contact info.

3

Set realistic prices for your work. A gallery won't touch a piece that it thinks will not sell because of price. Go to galleries and look at similar work by new artists and see how much their work is selling for and price accordingly.

4

Find smaller places to sell your work first, like coffee shops, restaurants and art fairs. If you have some proven sales, a gallery is more likely to take a chance on you.

5

Seek out galleries with similar work and only approach them. If you make marble sculptures, going to a gallery that only sells oil paints will not do you much good.