How To Find Gallery Representation

Finding gallery representation is one of the biggest challenges confronting artists. While every university includes essential tuition in how to move from university into work (and is scrutinized on its graduate destinations and employability), art academies have completely fallen short on any equivalent coaching. The most common approach taken by your average graduate is to send an email to the gallery staff, general gallery email (info@) or even to the founder of the gallery. Alternatively, some artists prefer to send direct messages to the gallery or tag the gallery on an artwork on Instagram; some walk into the gallery, approach front desk staff and show their work on a tablet or printed out in a binder. Unfortunately, none of these approaches works. 

Empirical evidence suggests there is only one failsafe way to find gallery representation: through networking. While the term “networking” might sound too abstract to some (and too corporate to others), it just means that you need to know somebody who introduces you to the gallerist. I have developed a practical four step approach to help you find gallery representation.

Step 1: Identify your target

If there are approximately 20,000 galleries in the world, only ten, twenty at most, are going to be a good fit for you. Finding a gallery is similar to dating: millions of potential partners out there, but only a handful are really a good match. In order to find the right gallery, you need to do your research. In this short video, I describe why it's so important to find a gallery that has impact, as so many galleries simply won't help you in your search for success. 

 Step 2: Connect with your target

Every artist should make a point of attending gallery openings wherever they can get to them, in their own city and beyond. When I moved to NYC, I spent most of my Thursday evenings in Chelsea to attend the gallery openings. I always went by myself, which forced me to meet new people and made it easier to gradually build up a circle of contacts from one gallery to the next. It was a purely professional strategy: I didn’t go to study the art, I went to network with the guests. Sometimes I would visit up to ten gallery openings a night, meeting new people at each one. 

For those of you who feel deterred by shyness, and who are horrified by the idea of talking to gallery staff or guests, you will soon realize that gallery staff start to notice you, so I encourage you to put one foot in front of the other and keep turning up: gallerist Ellie Rines of hot and trendy gallery 56 Henry is very clear in her interview that she places great value on artists taking an interest in her gallery program and attending her openings. You can watch her interview in my class. 

Step 3: Identify, study, and connect with your target gallery’s artists

While the founder might be the ultimate decision maker, anyone related to the gallery is an important contact, particularly its artists. Tim Blum, co-founder of Blum & Poe, stresses in our interview that he often finds out about new artists through introductions by his existing artists, citing a specific example of an introduction by Mark Grotjahn. Artists are very receptive to other artists, and remember how it was to be in your shoes. If they like your work, you can generally rely on their support because they have nothing to lose. To reach out to artists of a gallery, study their profiles closely. Check their résumés, residencies, and grants, and which museums have their works. 

Step 4: N……

I dedicated an entire lecture to Step 4. Registered students of my class can watch it in my online class:

I believe that every artist can find gallery representation - without acting like a sleazy salesperson or selling your soul. In my online class I teach you the exact strategies to find a gallery and if you don’t like it you can request your money back.

Best, Magnus

P.s. My online class helps artists to sell more artworks. It’s based on my teaching at Ivy League Universities and 20 years of experience in the art market. And the best art market experts contributed to the class. The class has helped thousands of artists around the world, in every medium and age group. Find out more and sign up to my free masterclass by clickling on the link below.