“How to Support Your Gallery” (!) The exclamation point is mine.

“If you are a whiner, a prima donna, a jerk, a pest, it will hurt your sales.”

We received a fascinating email advertisement the other day, from a so-called “art magazine” called Artist Advocate. I use the term “magazine” loosely, as this is a publication with virtually no editorial content. They sell the pages of the publication (which ostensibly goes to some 6,000 galleries) to artists, right down to the front and back covers, for prices ranging from $2,599 (cover and full page) to $799 for half a page. The object of the game, according to their pitch, is to help visual artists find gallery representation.

Their principal message in the email was, believe it or not, “How to Support Your Gallery.” Not “How Your Gallery Supports You,” but exactly the opposite.  As usual in the art-gallery biz, the tail is wagging the dog. I would suggest that if you are prepared to do all the things they advocate, you really don’t need a gallery! Here is their list of suggestions: