Early in my career a gallery took my work on consignment, then called two weeks later asking if I could "soften" a piece. Wanted me to grind down the welds on a steel figure I'd spent three weeks on. I said no. They dropped me.
Ever had a gallery ask you to change something that would've ruined it? Did you do it or walk?
this happened to me with a gallery once, but with pastels, they wanted me to "brighten up" a portrait, make the colours more commercial. i had spent days getting those muted greys and dusty pinks exactly where i wanted them. i said no too. they didn't drop me exactly but they definitely lost interest.
it stuck with me though. not the rejection, but the fact that i knew immediately i'd rather have the piece sit in my studio than change it into something i didn't believe in. three weeks of welding, i can't imagine being asked to grind that down. some things are finished when they're finished, not when someone else decides they are.
good call walking away.
They wanted you to brighten it. That's missing the point of what you were doing. Those muted colors aren't a mistake you haven't fixed yet. They're the decision.
I've had people ask me to make things more "approachable." What they mean is blander. Three weeks into a piece you know whether it's right. The gallery that dropped me over the welds never sold anything of mine anyway. No loss.
i had a curator once ask me to remove the charcoal from a piece because it "felt too unresolved." which was the whole point. i walked.
good for you for saying no. three weeks of welding and they wanted you to grind it down like it was a rough edge on a shelf. that kind of ask tells you everything about whether they actually see what you're doing or just want something that sits easier. better to know early.
That's tough. I think it's different for everyone depending on where you're at. Early on I might have done it because I was so desperate to get my work out there, and I'd probably have regretted it. These days I'd like to think I'd walk too, but I also get that not everyone can afford to burn bridges.
It does tell you a lot though when they can't see what you were doing on purpose. Like with your charcoal piece, "unresolved" was the intent, that's not a flaw, that's a choice. If they can't tell the difference, they're not the right fit anyway.