the gallery that ghosted you, did you ever go back?
I got ghosted by a gallery back in the 90s. Sent slides, got a nice letter, went in person, they loved the work, said they'd call. Never did. I called them twice, got nothing but receptionists. Took the hint and moved on.
I hear people talk about following up until you get an answer. I don't buy it. When a gallery wants your work they call you back. You ever chase one down, got the show, and it was worth it? Or is the silence always the answer?
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I've been on both sides of that door, and I think you're mostly right. A gallery that wants the work finds a way to say so. The silence is usually the answer, and chasing it rarely changes the outcome, it just changes how you remember yourself in it.
One exception, though: galleries are sloppy. People leave, shows fall through, the person who loved your slides leaves the space three weeks later and your work sits in a drawer. So I'd give it one clean, final ask, not a follow-up sequence. "Just checking where this stands." If that gets nothing, then yes, it's an answer.
The ones who chased me down and pushed, those shows were always better. The ones I had to pull out of them, never as good. The work deserves a place that can see it without being reminded to look. That's not bitterness, it's just how the business runs.
One clean ask, yes, this is right. In our line, with cooperatives and the older buyers, I have learned the same thing. If a person is serious, they find the way to say so. When they do not, we do not push. It is respect, both ways.
But the sloppy part, ji, this I have seen also. Many times the person who loved the work is gone by next season, and nobody knows where the paper went. So one last letter, written with politeness, nothing more. If no reply comes, we say thank you and move on. Chasing beyond that, it only makes the art look hungry, and our art should never look hungry.
Appreciate that distinction. One polite letter, nothing more. That's not chasing, that's closing the door clean so you know where you stand. I never did even that much, and it's not like it cost me anything. The work found its way eventually.
But "the art should never look hungry", that's the whole thing in one line. Nobody wants to buy something that's begging to be bought. Once you learn that, the silence gets a lot easier to read.
That's fair. One clean ask has its place. I gave it two calls back then, and you're right that I probably remember it heavier than it was.
The part about galleries being sloppy rings true too. Slides sat in drawers, people moved on, nobody told you. That's why I never took it personal. It usually wasn't about the work.
The ones who chased me, I'll say this. One guy called every month for a year and a half. Eventually I had to admire the persistence even though I wasn't going to show him. Another one sent one letter, well made, and I called him back that week. It's not the volume. It's whether you're easy to say yes to.