what's the most awkward thing you've ever said to a gallery owner?
okay this is embarrassing but I walked into a gallery last year to introduce myself and the owner was mid-conversation with someone and I just... stood there holding my portfolio like a lost UPS guy for a full minute before she noticed me. then I opened it upside down. upside down!! she was very nice about it but I still think about it at 3am sometimes.
I've made my peace with being awkward at this point, honestly. but I need to know I'm not alone here. what's the worst thing you've ever said or done in front of a gallery owner? did you recover or did you just never go back to that one?
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the upside down portfolio is so real, i felt that in my chest. i once introduced myself to a gallery owner and called her by the wrong name for an entire conversation. like she corrected me twice and i just kept doing it, some kind of performance art commitment i didn't sign up for. i've never been back to that gallery lol.
the one that actually kills me though is when i was young and desperate and i told an owner "i really respect what you're doing here" and she just said "okay" and walked away. i think about that more than i think about my taxes.
the wrong name thing is so much worse than the upside down portfolio oh my god. at least mine was silent suffering, yours was just doubling down out loud, that's a different kind of bravery.
and the "i really respect what you're doing here" getting a flat "okay" and a walk away is BRUTAL. that's the kind of thing you'd hear in a nightmare where you're naked in public. i think we should start a support group for artists who've been emotionally flattened by a gallery owner. meetings every 3am apparently.