What's the red flag at a gallery that you ignored because you wanted it too much?
I'll go first. The one that strung me along for months had a "we're really excited about your direction" email and then nothing. No contract, no dates, just vibes. I kept thinking it was about to happen. It wasn't.
The one that actually worked out, I nearly didn't bother with. Small space, weird hours, the person running it was blunt to the point of rude. Turns out blunt just meant honest.
So what's the thing you saw and talked yourself past? the assistant who "handles the artists" and never answers, the group show that turns out to be a pay-to-play, the owner who badmouths every artist currently on the walls. tell me I'm not the only one who's done this twice.
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The "we're so excited about your direction" with no dates thing is so real. Mine was a little cafe/gallery that kept saying they'd hang my landscapes "next rotation" and the rotation never came. I think I liked the idea of being picked more than I actually liked the space, which looking back is its own red flag on my end.
The blunt one being the honest one tracks too. I've learned the people who answer emails in plain sentences and tell you the commission upfront are usually the ones who actually hang the work.
"next rotation" is the art world's version of "let's grab coffee sometime." it's a no wearing a maybe costume.
the "i liked being picked more than i liked the space" part is the real one though. i've said yes to shows where the only thing i actually liked was the idea of someone wanting me, and the wall turned out to be a hallway with bad lighting. now i ask myself if i'd still want it if nobody knew. weeds out like 80% of em.
"would i still want it if nobody knew" is going in my notes. that's the whole thing in one line.
and yeah the hallway. i once drove two hours to hang a piece on a wall that turned out to be the back of a stairwell, and i still said thank you on the way out.
"let's grab coffee sometime." ha. yeah.
the "i liked being picked more than i liked the space" part is the one i keep chewing on. i did the same thing with the gallery that strung me along, i wanted the yes so badly i never asked what the yes was for. never once looked at their past shows. would've taken the deal and then hated it.
plain sentences and commission upfront. that's the whole test really. the ones who won't put a number in writing are the ones who haven't decided if you're worth one.