Online Art Galleries, Winners and Losers

Online Art Galleries, Winners and Losers by Australian Art Blogger, Rob Kennedy

This morning I became aware of another online art gallery and about another two in the process of starting up and calling for artists. It's not hard to form the opinion that artists, particularly good ones are at a premium as galleries fish for selling artists, as established galleries try to hold on to the good ones they have.

Each gallery seems to be different in so much that some charge commissions, or commissions and subscriptions, just a subscription and so on. It's easy to see that commissions vary considerably. Artists are now spoiled for choice, but is that necessarily a good thing?

Personally, I'm not convinced. As these galleries pop up offering low commissions and introductory rates, several are asking or looking for: skill levels, saleability, preferred genres, sales history and so on. I see a shift from “let them all in” to, “show us what you've got” with an accompanying application (and sometimes a processing fee). I wonder if being selective will see those galleries float to the top?

Having said that what does this mean to the artist. You've busted your guts developing your skills, you've spent time and money from everything (if you're like me) of even doing a risk assessment of a compostion or style for saleability. You've painted some good ones and others have ended up in the bin. You've made canvases bought more supplies and been frustrated by what appears to be your major bottleneck. Sales. I can't recall a time when frustration has become the main talking point between artists on and off the screen.

There are possibly well over 50,000 full time or professional and part time artists in Australia. That's just painters, you can probably more than double that number if you include photographers, digital artists, crafters, scultptures, potters and print makers etc., and as this number grows so does the competition. Your art is now sitting in an ocean of art. It's getting harder and harder to be seen. You're one artist trying to sell to an ageing almost steady population.

Selling probably relates to a few factors. Visibility and reputation. Visibility is probably the big one for new and emerging artists.

Do you start your own gallery/shop? You can, but remember you probably don't have the advertising budget that the established galleries do. Yes, you can do your own low budget ads and they do work. In my own case I can see a steady increase in visits and more importantly return visitors. However, this won't work for everyone. There will be casulties.

IMO the smart money is on the selective galleries. The ones that pick and choose which artists have the most potential, particularly if they can hold onto them. They fit the business plan and may even attract more artists. The casulties range from the colour blind part timers to those that might be good but just don't sell.

Can one gallery cater to all artists? They might, but I doubt if they will succeed. It's not all the gallery's fault either. Some art will never sell, and that doesn't mean it's bad art. An American painter that does urban landscapes come to mind. IMO fantastic art but maybe on the wrong street in the wrong city? His work has been known to sit in galleries for years.

Time will tell, but I think “exposure” may help but exposure alone won't pay the bills.