The gallery that said yes but couldn't sell a single piece
I had a small show at a gallery a few years ago, nice space, good light, they seemed to really believe in the work. And then five weeks passed, not one thing moved. Not even a small print. They didn't promote it, I think, not really. Just put it on the wall and waited.
I still wonder if that was on me, my work, my prices, my failure to bring people, or if some galleries just hang things and hope without doing the actual work of selling. Maybe both.
Has a gallery ever taken your work and then just... nothing happened? Did you stay with them, or did you leave?
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Oh honey, I know that feeling. Had a gallery up in Nashville hang my quilts one time, real pretty space, big windows, they said all the right things. Six weeks and not a soul asked about a price. I remember driving home and just sitting in the car wondering if I'd wasted everybody's time.
But here's what I learned. Some galleries, they love the look of something on their wall but they don't know how to talk about it. They don't have the relationships. They hang you up like wallpaper and expect magic. That ain't on you.
After that I started paying attention to how a gallery talked about the work when people were around. Did they know the story behind it? Could they speak to why it mattered? If they can't sell it with their mouth, all the nice light in the world won't move it.
I didn't stay with that place. I thanked them kindly and moved on. No hard feelings, but I wasn't gonna be somebody's decoration again.
That bit about sitting in the car, I know it. I sat in my studio after, just staring at the prints I'd brought back, not knowing what to do with them.
And you're right about the wallpaper thing. I think some galleries just want walls filled. They don't know how to speak about the work because they didn't really see it in the first place.
What did you start looking for instead? I've turned down a couple since then and sometimes wonder if I'm being too careful now.