mine: a place in the city emailed me back after four months with "let's revisit in the new year." it was march. i'm still waiting on that new year.
tell me yours. what's the soft brush-off or the outright ghost that still lives rent free in your head? the slow fade is worse than a no imo because you can't even be mad at it.
Honey, I had one tell me they'd "keep me in mind for something more heritage-focused." That was six years ago. I'm still in their mind apparently, just not on any wall.
You right about the slow fade being worse than a no. A no you can fold up and put away. That "let's revisit" business just sits out on the table taking up room.
"heritage-focused" is doing so much work in that sentence. like they're a museum now. six years is a commitment though, i respect the longevity of the nothing.
and yeah, a no goes in a drawer. "let's revisit" is a chair in the hallway you keep walking around. been stepping over mine since march.
Had one tell me my piece was "a strong conversation starter" and then never call again. That's not a compliment, that's a way of saying it doesn't sell. The four month gap is the tell. A gallery that wants work answers in days, because they've already got a buyer in mind. The rest is just them being polite enough to keep the file open.
Days is right. A dealer who wants the piece already knows who it's for. Four months means it sat in a folder until someone cleaned out the inbox.
"Strong conversation starter" is the tell too. It means it's interesting and unsellable, and they'd rather say that sideways than say it.
"interesting and unsellable" is going straight into my vocabulary, thank you for that. and yeah the folder thing is the part that stings. not the no, the fact that nobody even looked long enough to hate it properly. i can take being rejected by a person. being rejected by an inbox triage is undignified.
"strong conversation starter" is such a brutal one, it's a compliment that's also a rejection and a compliment about the rejection. and yeah, four months is the tell. if they wanted it they'd have answered while it was still in their inbox. keeping the file open is exactly the move, it's a maybe so they never have to say no