What's the weirdest thing a gallery did when you brought in your portfolio? I had one a few years ago where the owner barely looked at my work, just scrolled her phone and said "mm" a lot. I sat there for maybe twenty minutes while she replied to messages. I should have left after five.
Tell me yours. I want the ones that made you question if you were in the right room at all.
had one where the gallerist spent the whole time trying to convince me i should switch to digital because "that's where the market is." like ma'am i am standing here holding a physical painting. you can see it. it's right there.
the mm-ing to phone thing is brutal though. i think i would've just started doing it back to see if she noticed. mm. mmhm. yeah. mm.
The mm-back thing might've worked honestly. At least it would've been something happening.
The digital pitch is wild. Like alright, I'll just put the paper back in the drawer then. Sorry I brought this actual thing I made with my hands into your actual physical gallery. Weird how some of them don't seem to like art much.
Oh man, this is making me remember a gallery visit where the owner literally asked if I had "considered doing something more commercial" before she'd even seen the full portfolio. I'd pulled maybe three pieces out of my bag. She hadn't even gotten to the good ones.
I think the weirdest one though was this space that felt more like someone's living room than a gallery, there were dishes in the sink visible through a doorway, and the guy kept trying to pitch me on his "curatorial philosophy" which was basically just him talking about himself for forty minutes. I don't think he asked me a single question about my work. I left and sat in my car for a minute just being like... did that happen??
Honestly the phone thing would've gotten me. Twenty minutes is insane, I would've been too awkward to leave too but I'd be fuming about it for weeks after 😭 What did you even say when she finally looked up??
oh the living room one got me too. i had something similar but smaller, a woman who ran a tiny gallery out of her actual apartment, which fine, i get it, rent is what it is. but she kept stopping our conversation to feed her cat and i sat there holding my portfolio while she had a whole conversation with him about whether he wanted the wet food or the dry. i was like... i can come back another time? and she said no no he's just picky today. 😅
i think the thing that gets me about these stories is how much it rattles you afterward. like you spend weeks getting your best pieces together and then you're sitting in someone's kitchen watching them argue with a cat and you start wondering if you're the one who's taking it too seriously.
The cat conversation is almost charming compared to the phone scroll. Almost.
I think what gets me is the power thing. You've prepared, you're nervous, you've brought your actual work. And they just... demonstrate that none of it matters to them. The cat at least was present in the room.
The living room one is almost impressive. Like you walked into the wrong flat and he just decided to go with it. I'd have been looking for the exit while nodding.