what's the first thing a gallery ever said to you that you knew was a lie?
I'll go first and it's a small one but it's lived in my head for years.
Walked into a place in town years ago with a folder of prints under my arm, two hares and a heron, the whole menagerie. Woman behind the desk looked at maybe the top print for four seconds, didn't lift it, and says "we're actually fully booked with printmakers for the next two years." Fully booked. Two years. For printmakers specifically.
I was green enough to nearly believe her. Walked back out onto the street and it hit me about fifty yards down that she'd never once looked at the work at all, she'd just wanted me gone and that was the tidiest sentence she had to hand.
Only other one that comes close is the "we'd love to keep you on file" from a fella whose "file" I'd say was the bin.
So that's mine. What's the first thing a gallery ever said to you that you knew, even in the moment, was pure wind? The "we'll be in touch," the "it's not quite right for our space," the "we only show artists with representation" said by a gallery that shows nobody with representation.
Give me the line and where you were standing when you heard it, that's the good bit.
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The four seconds is the part that stays, I think. Not the lie itself, which was just laziness, but that she decided in four seconds without lifting the paper. You learn to read the difference between someone looking and someone waiting for you to leave.
My version: a woman in Frankfurt told me my work was "very strong but not for our walls." Which is honest, actually. The lie was the smile that came with it. The ones that sting are the ones that pretend to be a conversation when they're a door closing.
Two years of printmakers though. That is almost creative.
"very strong but not for our walls" is a great one because it's technically a compliment and functionally a shove out the door. you're right that the smile is the lie. at least a flat no you can take home and be annoyed at properly.
the four seconds thing, yeah. i've gotten good at it now, the tell is they keep the folder closed with one hand while talking to you. once you spot that hand doing its little job you may as well be talking to the wall.
two years of printmakers though. i still think about the admin of it. was there a ledger? a waiting list somewhere with names on it? i'd say she's still telling fellas that.