what did the gallery do that made you trust them?
Everyone asks about red flags. I want the opposite for once.
The one that got me: a small gallery in Brno, years back. The woman running it looked at my folder for maybe four minutes, then said the back room had a bad wall and she was not sure my piece would survive it, and she would rather tell me now than after the install. Nobody had ever told me a wall was against me before. I signed the contract before I finished my coffee.
Since then that is my test. Not the size of the space or the name on the door. Whether they will say the inconvenient thing early.
So, what did a gallery actually do that made you trust them? Or the smaller version: what is the first sign you are in good hands?
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Honesty about the bad wall is a rare thing ji. My own experience is from the other side, I am a Mithila painter from Madhubani and for many years the people who took my work did not say anything inconvenient, they simply said it was very nice and paid very little, and I came to understand the rest by myself.
The one who earned my trust was a man in Patna who told me plainly that my colours would fade in the strong light of his front room, and that he would hang my work in the inner room where fewer people pass. He lost some sale by saying it. But he kept my painting alive, and I kept sending him work for eleven years. So yes, I am agreeing with you. The inconvenient thing said early is worth more than any big name on the door.
This is the part people do not see, ji. When they only say "very nice" and pay little, the painter learns nothing, so the same thing happens again next time. Your Patna man gave you something more useful than a sale, he told you where your work would live. For natural colours that is not a small thing. My mother used to say a painting should be kept where it can be seen without being burnt by the light. He understood that, so he was not only a seller but a caretaker also. Such people are few, kindly keep sending to him.
"Not only a seller but a caretaker" is a good phrase, I will steal it. Your mother was right about the light, and it is the same test as the wall in Brno. Someone who tells you where the work will live is telling you they have thought about it living after they are done with it. That is the whole difference. Keep sending to him, yes.
"He lost some sale by saying it" is the whole sentence, ji. That is the cost, and he paid it without making it your problem. The inner room with fewer people passing is also a good picture of what trust actually looks like in this business. Not the best wall. The right wall.
And you are right that "very nice" teaches nothing. It is a polite way of not paying attention.