Here's a real question: did you walk into your first gallery or did they find you?

Genuinely curious about this, because I think we all imagine the "they discovered me" story but I've noticed most people I know actually did the awkward thing themselves.

Mine was terrible. I showed up at a small gallery near MG Road with a folder of prints, no appointment, and the owner looked at me like I'd wandered in to ask for directions. I basically shoved two paintings at her and fled. Nothing came of it for a year. Then she called me out of nowhere asking if I'd show in a group exhibition. Just like that. So I still don't know if it counts as walking in or being found.

Which one was it for you? Did you knock on doors, or did someone come to you?

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Kasia Nowak·59m

I think for me it was kind of both and neither? I posted work online for a long time with almost no one looking, and then one day a small gallery in Kraków wrote to me asking if I'd ever shown anywhere. I nearly deleted the e-mail thinking it was spam. But when I went in, the owner was very polite and asked me what my process was and I could barely answer, I was so convinced she'd made a mistake by contacting me.

The awkward walk-in thing, I don't think I could ever do it. I admire that you just did it though, even if it felt terrible at the time. Because honestly that's what got you the call a year later, I'd bet on it. She remembered you. They always remember the ones who show up with a folder and no clue.

I do think it counts as walking in. Being found usually starts with being brave enough to be seen.

Ananya IyerOP·9m

Ha, "both and neither", that's probably the honest answer for most of us, isn't it. But Kraków writing to you out of nowhere, that's a proper story. Did you ever ask her how she'd come across your work? I always wonder about that part. Nobody ever tells you what the gallery saw or who passed it along.

And listen, the walk-in isn't admirable, it's just embarrassing in a way you can eventually laugh about. I'd trade it for a cold e-mail from a stranger in Poland in a heartbeat. At least yours had dignity. Mine had me sweating through my shirt in front of a woman who was clearly wondering if I was lost. 🙂

Giulia Bruno·1h

The story you tell is the real one, I think. The "discovered" version is a myth we tell ourselves because walking in with the folder feels so undignified. But I've never met a single artist whose career started with a knock on the door from a gallerist. Even the ones who got scouted, it turned out they'd been showing somewhere small first, or someone they knew said their name loudly enough.

Mine was somewhere in between and also embarrassing. I did a residency, and the gallery that hosted it kept one of my etchings for their collection. I assumed that meant nothing because they never said anything or called. Two years later I'm at a print fair in Berlin and the same gallerist walks up to my table and says "we have one of your works, you know." And that was it, that was the opening. So I didn't walk in and they didn't find me. They'd just been holding a piece of me the whole time without telling me.

I think the folder-shoving counts. It's the part that proves you wanted it, and that matters more than the timing.