A Conversation with Chicago Art Dealers

by Michele Plante

On November 9, 2006, FAA students travelled to the University's I space Gallery in Chicago to discuss careers in galleries and the artist-gallery relationship. Our guest speakers included: Byron Roche, owner of the Byron Roche Gallery; Martha Schneider, owner of the Martha Schneider Gallery; Natalie van Straaten, executive director of the Chicago Art Dealers Association (CADA); and Mary Antonakos, coordinator of the I space Gallery

Despite the different backgrounds and goals of our speakers, one theme was resoundingly clear:

Be respectful, professional, and focused.

Whether you're an artist looking for gallery representation or a connoisseur looking to work in the gallery world, the quickest way to make a bad impression is to waste someone's time. The following stories illustrate how these gallery managers succeeded by focusing on the employer's needs and the audience's interests.

Careers in Galleries

How Mary Antonakos from I space Gallery Got Started

Sculpture major Mary Antonakos took Design and hated it, but that class helped her discover her passion for speaking with artists about art. This led her to apply for a gallery internship in Toronto. Antonakos is talented, had a great résumé, and wore a suit to the interview. Even though she knew she was overdressing for the actual position, Antonakos wanted to stand out from the other applicants, and it worked. The employers were impressed by how seriously she took the interview opportunity, and how well she would represent the gallery. She got the job and stayed for 8 years.

Antonakos then moved to Chicago and got her next job through networking—a friend recommended her to members of the I space hiring comittee. Once the connection was made, they were wowed by her experience, talent, and knowledge. Mary Antonakos has been at I space ever since.

How Natalie von Stratten from CADA Got Started

Natalie von Stratten began her career as a journalist and discovered visual art along the way. After spending the bulk of her very first paycheck on a painting, von Stratten was hooked. In 1969, she and a friend opened up a gallery specializing in affordable art for young collectors. In 1981, they moved the gallery to the River North district. At the time there were only two other art galleries in the neigborhood, but one year later there were 16. Fast-forward to today, and the district boasts a total of 65 galleries.

To foster the community's interest in art, von Stratten organized "opening nights" and created publications highlighting the neighborhood's events. She founded Chicago Gallery News in 1983. In 1987, she was appointed the first Executive Director of the Art Dealer's Association of Chicago (CADA)—a coalition of the city’s foremost dealers committed to representing the highest standards of fine art.

How Byron Roche Got Started

Byron Roche was a musician and booking agent until the age of 35. He was looking for a different lifestyle, and heard that the Merrill Chase Gallery was looking for salespeople. "I had to like it to sell it." He spent nine years there learning the business, working his way up from floor sales to management. Roche's secret was that he didn't focus on selling, he focused on telling stories. "Selling is not a dirty word. You're sharing information with people. I don't think art stands on its own very well. A non-artist will only be in the gallery for two minutes if I don't talk to them and give them a context for the work. I just keep talking until they leave or buy something. It's not what I do or say, it's how they feel when they leave the gallery that's important.

"When you make art it's all about you. When I bring art into my gallery, it's all about me and what the work says about me. When I go to sell it, it's all about the client."

Advice for Those Interested in Gallery Careers

Here are a few things to keep in mind when you're hunting for that first job.

Start at the bottom. When you are starting out, take the low paid jobs and keep your expectations low. Young people often have unrealistic expectations about having input on the exhibit schedule. That takes experience.
Do your homework. Find out what kind of work the gallery shows and figure out what you have to offer. If you can take photographs, create publications, or have good software skills, then you have something special to offer.
Pay attention. Learn as much as you can while you're there.
Focus on contributing. Try to find an employer who is willing to use your specific skills, which may not be the same as their previous assistant.
Realize why you're there. If you're interested in the commercial world, keep in mind you have to be able to sell work whether you personally like it or not.

Getting Gallery Representation

You only get one chance to make a first impression. Here are some things you can do to make it a good one.

Personality and opportunity: find the right fit. Go to the gallery a few times before approaching them about your work. Speak with the staff or the management. Get to know the vibe of the gallery and the people in it. This isn't a cattle call, it's a relationship.
Artwork: find the right fit. Make sure your art is the right fit for the gallery. Don't contact every gallery in the district. Find one that shows work related to yours. You don't want to be too similar to artists in their stable, but if it's an abstract gallery, don't ask them to show your surrealist paintings.
Be focused and conscious of time. Don't waste anyone's time. Don't talk about your journey there, your day, how much your mom likes your work, or why you were late. Be on time and focused on topics that are relevant to the work.
Show up on the right day. Respect that their time is very valuable. Fridays and Saturdays are probably the most convenient day for you, but this is the worst time for the gallery. On Tuesdays they will be trying to catch up from the weekend. Wednesdays and Thursdays are probably the days when they'll be most receptive to your approach.
Work around what the gallery prefers. Some galleries want you to make an appointment, some don't. Again, getting to know the gallery before you ask for an interview will give you a sense of how they work and help you avoid going down the wrong path. If you're sending artwork instead of interviewing in person, find out what to send. Roche for example, feels that "CDs with a self-addressed stamped envelope are better than slides."
Be professional. Your appearance, your presentation, and your work should be professional. Some dealers like to wear jeans, some wear suits every day. Know who you're meeting with and dress appropriately. Your résumé, images, biography, and artist's statement should be well written and professionally presented. If you get to the stage where you're showing actual work, make sure it's 100% professional from the front of the canvas to the back. If your work requires frames, make sure the frames are as high-quality as the art

It's very rare to go straight from school to a gallery. Even before you graduate college, you should be showing work. Join the Chicago Artist's Coalition and show your work in juried exhibits, art fairs, arts centers and not-for-profits. Build up your résumé. Roche advises, "Dealers sometimes jury shows just to find new artists. Also, if you're an emerging artist, go for people who've recently opened a gallery. They're looking to do one show after another.

"Everything in this business is a fluke. How do you get into a gallery? You probably don't. How many basketball players get in the NBA? But you DO have a lifetime to work on it. One of my artists is in his eighties now...I took him on when he was 65."

Artists, Galleries, Money and Shows

Galleries in Chicago take a 50% commission, galleries in New York take a 60% commission. It's often a surprise to artists new to the gallery relationship that whether the gallery is involved in the sale or not, they still get the same commission. This may sound unfair at to the artist until you take the time to break it down.

Pricing

As an emerging artist, your work will likely have a low market value. You have no biography or record. If you're lucky enough to get gallery representation, you're trading on the gallery's name. Pricing is difficult to talk about in the abstract, but you can start by looking at work that's comparable to yours by artists with a similar level of experience and see what their prices are. Even more importantly—are those works selling at that price?

Roche says he prefers "work that's about 2' by 2' that looks like a lot of work went into it. Craft and beauty are finally coming back into fashion. If you're selling that in a coffee shop you can ask a couple hundred for it. If it's in a gallery, you could ask $1500–$1800 for that 2' x' 2' oil painting.

"If you're making a body of work—which I recommend—have one big piece, four or five medium pieces and a bunch of small pieces. Make it so that someone could buy a series of two or three small pieces.

"You should have a Web site showing your work, but instead of the prices, put my contact information. We want the client to contact me."

Why Commissions Are So High

For starters, renting gallery space is not inexpensive. To keep a small Chicago gallery running, insurance, rent, heat, air conditioning, electricity and advertising costs can run $20,000 each month. When the economy takes a downturn, people stop buying art, so the gallery must have money saved to survive even when people aren't buying art.

Why Galleries Get a Commission if You Sell the Piece Yourself

Dealers spend years building up your reputation, talking you up, and selling your work. Your stock as an artist goes up substantially if you have gallery representation. If you sell a piece without involving the gallery, you're making a profit off of their efforts without compensating them. And consider this from Byron Roche, "If I'm representing you, don't start selling work out your back door. At that point you should call me and tell me someone is interested. Then I'll sell the client three pieces instead of just one."

Clients who Negotiate Prices

Artists need to get used to the idea that negotiating prices is a fact of life. There are some clients who won't buy a piece unless they can negotiate a deal. Roche reports, "Often if I'm working with an interior designer, I have to give them discount off the top. If you need a certain amount for your piece, you should charge enough that you can absorb that discount."

Framing

The artist pays for the frames. If you don't want to pay for frames, you have the choice to make art that looks good without one. Byron Roche has some strong feelings about work and framing: "I don't like works on paper because you have to pay two or three hundred dollars to frame paper so it look like it's worth something. If the piece doesn't sell, you don't get that framing money back. I like work that looks great framed or unframed. It should look like a well-crafted object front and back."

Artist Statements

Critics will pan a show if the statement doesn't relate to the work. "I like a crisp statement about 3 inches long," says Roche. "I don't like statements that include university art speak. I also wouldn't list collectors in your bio—that looks amateurish."

"Fashion and fine art are about an inch apart." —Byron Roche

You've Got Gallery Representation—Now What?

Congratulations, you're just getting started. "Even if you do get gallery representation, don't quit entering competitions and trying to get museum and university shows. I don't need the pressure of being responsible for your entire economic well-being. I like artists that understand it's their job to hustle museum and university shows. I don't have time to do that," says Byron Roche. It's also never too early to build your mailing list by having an e-mail sign-up sheet everywhere you show.

If you are fortunate enough to work with a gallery, start building your reputation for reliability. Martha Schneider advises, "When we are setting up a show, we send the artist a pre-show timeline. You must get things done on time. The gallery writes press releases two months ahead of time, so they need to know what to say. Same with the postcard. We do not have time to check on you or for you to miss your deadlines." It's hard enough to get a show, you won't get a second chance if you make their jobs more difficult. Ms. van Straaten provides additional tips in "Advice to Emerging Artists," from Chicago Artist's Resource.

It's not only important to build your reputation with galleries, but with other artists as well. Roche reports, "I often get my artists from my other artists. I get to know them over time." As we said before, respect is key. "I don't work with anyone who isn't polite and doesn't understand that I'm interested in what is best for them."

Being respectful and professional isn't just the right thing to do, it's also a tool that will help you throughout your career.