Saturday, March 28, 2009


I often wonder if the public is aware of the fact that art galleries are the only retailers in existence, who do not have to invest their own money to maintain an inventory.......that gallery owners are the only business people on earth, who receive the products from which they earn their profits, completely free of charge.......and that, as a result of this, gallery owners are the most arrogant, most abusive retailers in existence.

To open a gallery, you simply announce that you're looking for a bunch of artists who'd like to sell their work, and right away, you'll find a whole lot of suckers with a whole lot of artwork, practically begging you to show their stuff.......on consignment.......and totally for free.

Artists don't get paid unless and until a gallery sells their work, in return for which, the gallery owners are supposed to promote those artists by providing them with lots of exhibitions and other forms of publicity. This professional obligation is one that gallery owners don't ever take seriously and almost never live up to. And artists, being the broke, shy, unrealistic and non-pushy individuals they usually are, will be afraid to confront a gallery owner who has neglected to promote them.

When gallery owners do sell an artist's work, they're supposed to immediately pay the artist their share of the selling price, which is anywhere from 70% to as low as 40%.......but in the real world, gallery owners will hold on to that money for as long as they possibly can, while getting a sadistic pleasure from watching their artists beg for that which is rightfully theirs.

Gallery owners are legally responsible for the works they've been given in trust, and are supposed to re-imburse their artists for any theft or damage done to their works. This, of course, never ever happens, because gallery owners know full well, that no impoverished artist will ever be able to sue them.

Because of the nature of this gallery-artist relationship, gallery ownership attracts the kind of interpersonal bullies who enjoy torturing those who are dependent on them. Gallery owners like to refer to their artists as their "stable".......the only other individuals who use this word to describe those who provide their income, are pimps.

So next time you walk into a gallery, try to remember these sorry facts. They might even inspire you to treat some gallery owners with the total disdain they deserve.
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