Placing work in multiple galleries in one town

[wasabi]

Hello. First post...newbie. Couldn't find a better forum to post this. Hope it is OK to put in here.

I'm a new sculptor (metal sculpture) and placed several pieces in one of the higher-end galleries in my small/medium sized town. Right afterward 2 other galleries responded to old emails of mine and said they would be interested in putting some of my work in their gallery. I do not believe they saw my work at the other gallery, it was just them catching up on email submissions and getting around to looking at digital pictures I had previously sent.

Someone suggested that putting my work in more than one gallery (in the same part of town) diluted the appeal of my work. My goals are both exposure and sales. If we ignore the issue of a contract, do you think placing work in multiple galleries is a bad idea for a new sculptor? I really like 2 of the 3 galleries and would consider putting some work in one and some in the other if the owners so allowed.

Thanks!

[fritchie]

Wasabi - Regardless of reason, I don't think it would be a good idea to have your work in more than one gallery at a time in a small locale, and probably not even elsewhere in the same region of the state. A good gallery will spend money advertising you and your work, in newspapers, television, even word of mouth and so on. They can’t give you that support if you dilute their expectation of sales.

[fritchie]

Left this void to keep later messages.

[Araich]

Bad move, stick with original gallery only but do talk with the others and keep open the lines of communication. Take your time in making changes, they can have profound effect on how you are viewed by dealers.

[oddist]

It would be good to check gallery policy too.

One gallery here only limits displaying in other galleries within its Zip code area!

With any gallery, just make sure you have all your legal papers in order.

[Steven Haas]

I agree with the previous posts and as a practical matter, you will find that you are playing to a small audience. I will work with only one gallery in a given county. It will be to your benefit to extend your reach in other towns. Look around your area and work your way out to increase your exposure and best of luck.

[Steven Haas]

I agree with the previous posts and as a practical matter, you will find that you are playing to a small audience. I will work with only one gallery in a given county. It will be to your benefit to extend your reach in other towns. Look around your area and work your way out to increase your exposure and best of luck.

[wasabi]

Thanks for the feedback. I will stick with the one gallery in this area, possibly placing more work in another city if I am so lucky. I do not think this gallery is going to advertise anything of mine specifically, even though they do advertise in general or for their feature artists. I am a local nobody but they do advertise their big national names.

[Jamo]

By legal papers what exaclt do you mean? If you could list out things you think you should watch out for.

[iron ant]

I second the motion,more than one gallery in the same town usually wigs out the gallery you were in first.Galleries are very competitive.On a legal note,some galleries make you sign contracts,some just shake your hand.Red light are galleries that promise they can do a,b,and.c.They are putting your work out there like food on a menue,and if folks seem to like it and order,that is when they will really get behind you.They will also snag artist away when they get hot.There are a lot of great galleries out there,but a ton of sharks too.Just use common sence,and good luck....

[Jamo]

I'd also like to invite anyone who would have a comment on diluting your work. Having a degree in business i have learnt that products are positioned in the marketplace to cater to diffrent markets. for example in a magazine marketplace for womens magazines you can have different subsets of the marketplace catered to. The magazine teen people is geared towards teens and cosmo is geared towards 30 something women. You can position a magazine relative to different characteristics that are important to the marketplace. price is one characteristic value is another and age group as well. depending on particular gaps in the market place to these different characteristics you can fill a previously uncapitalized niche. To bring it back to art,art posters are a particular niche they bring the price point down but are viewed to have less value than the actual painting or print. What I'm really trying to ask is at what point do higher valued pieces like an orignal bronze sculpture become devalued by over exposure. Like for example seeing the piece in two or more galleries in one city.

[fritchie]

I'd also like to invite anyone who would have a comment on diluting your work. Having a degree in business i have learnt that products are positioned in the marketplace to cater to diffrent markets. for example in a magazine marketplace for womens magazines you can have different subsets of the marketplace catered to. The magazine teen people is geared towards teens and cosmo is geared towards 30 something women. You can position a magazine relative to different characteristics that are important to the marketplace. price is one characteristic value is another and age group as well. depending on particular gaps in the market place to these different characteristics you can fill a previously uncapitalized niche. To bring it back to art,art posters are a particular niche they bring the price point down but are viewed to have less value than the actual painting or print. What I'm really trying to ask is at what point do higher valued pieces like an orignal bronze sculpture become devalued by over exposure. Like for example seeing the piece in two or more galleries in one city.

I don’t think the issue discussed so far in this thread is devaluation of work by overexposure, but developing and maintaining a good relationship with a gallery. I would guess that even in places as big as New York or London (ESPECIALLY in places as competitive as those), it would leave a bad taste in the mouth of your earlier gallery to find your work in a second one nearby. That’s basically just poor business practice.

Your points about market positioning are very good, and they raise the parallel issue - just how willing is the artist to alter his/her own work in order to make sales? And a second question - how will any changes of this sort affect the artist’s future growth and reputation?

[grayem]

You might also talk to the gallery owner and see how they would feel about it. THey might think the second or third gallery you got feedback form is a better fit and that they can make more money for you. You never know and it doesnt hurt if the first gallery can say that you are in demand from other galleries. They may want exlusive right in the area for sure and stick with them if they can sell your work. If they are the same type of gallery(frame shop, commercial, alternative, etc.) they probably all know each other and talk. If its a smallinsh town, then I wouldnt be surprised if they do know each other.