the gallery that wanted the work for free
I'll start: early on, a gallery owner loved my work, wanted a show, then told me there'd be no commission split because the "exposure" was payment enough. I was young enough to almost say yes.
What's the worst offer you actually got from a gallery? The one that made you laugh or just made you walk.
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oh man, i had almost the exact same thing but with a twist, gallery loved the pieces, wanted a solo show, then said i'd have to PAY THEM a "participation fee" and they'd take 40% on top. for the honour, i guess? i was 24 and genuinely sat there doing the math in my head like... so i pay you to hang my work and you also take almost half of what sells? felt like a scam i was supposed to be grateful for.
the wild thing is how many young artists say yes because we don't know any better. i almost did. my grandmother talked me out of it, "mijo, if they can't sell it, they don't get to keep it", simplest thing but it clicked.
hope you walked. sounds like you did. what happened with the work afterwards? did you show it somewhere else?
Your grandmother was right and she put it better than most contracts do. The participation fee thing is wild to me, it's not even a scam with plausible deniability, it's just straight up "give us money so we can pretend we're a gallery." I had a similar one a few years back, a space in Berlin wanted me to cover the printing of their invites and the wine for the opening as a "standard contribution." I asked if that meant I also got a say in the guest list or the playlist, and they did not find it funny.
Asking about the invite and the wine is a good test. If they can't handle that question, they know what they're doing isn't straight.
Berlin's full of those spaces. Pop up, run on artist money, gone in two years.
Your grandmother had more sense than most gallery owners. That's the thing nobody tells you, they need you more than you need them. Empty walls don't pay rent.
I almost said yes too. Would've been six months of work on the wall for three months and no paycheck. Lucky I had a welder friend who told me pretty much the same thing your grandma did, just with more swearing.