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"Starving" to Successful | The Fine Artist's Guide to Getting Into Galleries and Selling More Art
Have you ever wondered if you have what it takes to show your work in galleries? Have you felt frustrated because you are unsure how to best approach galleries for representation? Do you know what you need to do to prepare your work, your portfolio, and yourself to make an effective approach?
Starving to Successful | The Fine Artist's Guide to Getting into Galleries and Selling More Art will answer these questions and many more as you prepare to increase your presence in the gallery market. Written by J. Jason Horejs, owner of Xanadu Gallery in Scottsdale, AZ, Starving to Successful will give you pragmatic advice and concrete, actionable steps you can begin implementing immediately to become more successful in marketing your work to galleries.
Gain insight into what a gallery owner is thinking as he or she reviews your portfolio. Understand why the most common approaches artists make to galleries are largely ineffective. Learn what most artists fail to do in preparing their work for sale.
Starving to Successful will change the way you look at the artist/gallery relationship, and will set your art career on a new path.
About the Author
Art flows through Xanadu Gallery owner J. Jason Horejs veins. Second generation in the art business, (Horejs father is a nationally recognized oil painter John Horejs) Horejs life has always been filled with art. Though not interested in pursuing a life as an artist, Horejs fell in love with the business side of art at an early age. At age 12, the future gallery owner was employed by his father building custom canvas stretchers.
In 1991, at the age of 17, Horejs began working for Legacy Gallery in Scottsdale, AZ, where he learned the gallery business from the ground up. Horejs handled logistics, shipping and installation, eventually working into a sales position at the western art gallery. Horejs worked in the gallery s Scottsdale and Jackson Hole, WY, locations.
In 2001, Jason and his wife, Carrie, opened Xanadu Gallery in Scottsdale. In spite of opening on September 11th into a completely changed art world, Horejs built the gallery into a successful venture, showing dozens of artists and selling to collectors from around the world, including major municipal and private collections.
In 2008, Horejs developed a series of art marketing workshops designed to help artists better understand the gallery business and better prepare themselves to approach galleries. This series of workshops has helped hundreds of artists get organized to show and sell their work through galleries.
"I discovered," says Horejs, "there was very little information out there for the aspiring professional artist regarding the business side of art, especially in terms of the crucial relationship between the artists and the fine art gallery. Even artists who have graduated with master s degrees leave school having never heard a word about how to approach galleries."
Horejs observes that artists approaching his gallery are making many of the same mistakes, not because their work isn t gallery-ready, but simply because they don t have a clear idea of how to proceed. Horejs designed his workshops working closely with his parents and other artists who have learned the ropes of working with galleries by trial and error. The clear-headed advice the gallery owner gives is designed to give the artists concrete steps they can take to prepare their work, research galleries and approach galleries for representation.
Starving to Successful | The Fine Artist's Guide to Getting into Galleries and Selling More Art will answer these questions and many more as you prepare to increase your presence in the gallery market. Written by J. Jason Horejs, owner of Xanadu Gallery in Scottsdale, AZ, Starving to Successful will give you pragmatic advice and concrete, actionable steps you can begin implementing immediately to become more successful in marketing your work to galleries.
Gain insight into what a gallery owner is thinking as he or she reviews your portfolio. Understand why the most common approaches artists make to galleries are largely ineffective. Learn what most artists fail to do in preparing their work for sale.
Starving to Successful will change the way you look at the artist/gallery relationship, and will set your art career on a new path.
About the Author
Art flows through Xanadu Gallery owner J. Jason Horejs veins. Second generation in the art business, (Horejs father is a nationally recognized oil painter John Horejs) Horejs life has always been filled with art. Though not interested in pursuing a life as an artist, Horejs fell in love with the business side of art at an early age. At age 12, the future gallery owner was employed by his father building custom canvas stretchers.
In 1991, at the age of 17, Horejs began working for Legacy Gallery in Scottsdale, AZ, where he learned the gallery business from the ground up. Horejs handled logistics, shipping and installation, eventually working into a sales position at the western art gallery. Horejs worked in the gallery s Scottsdale and Jackson Hole, WY, locations.
In 2001, Jason and his wife, Carrie, opened Xanadu Gallery in Scottsdale. In spite of opening on September 11th into a completely changed art world, Horejs built the gallery into a successful venture, showing dozens of artists and selling to collectors from around the world, including major municipal and private collections.
In 2008, Horejs developed a series of art marketing workshops designed to help artists better understand the gallery business and better prepare themselves to approach galleries. This series of workshops has helped hundreds of artists get organized to show and sell their work through galleries.
"I discovered," says Horejs, "there was very little information out there for the aspiring professional artist regarding the business side of art, especially in terms of the crucial relationship between the artists and the fine art gallery. Even artists who have graduated with master s degrees leave school having never heard a word about how to approach galleries."
Horejs observes that artists approaching his gallery are making many of the same mistakes, not because their work isn t gallery-ready, but simply because they don t have a clear idea of how to proceed. Horejs designed his workshops working closely with his parents and other artists who have learned the ropes of working with galleries by trial and error. The clear-headed advice the gallery owner gives is designed to give the artists concrete steps they can take to prepare their work, research galleries and approach galleries for representation.
- GenresArtNonfictionBusiness
205 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 15, 2009
43 people are currently reading
86 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
May 19, 2014
It is one of a kind book from a Gallery Owner's perspective. I enjoyed reading it and will like to reread it again from time to time especially when I am ready to use galleries to represent me.
The reason I am giving three instead of five stars is because the writer/gallery owner Jason Horejs did not present the solution to a problem he stated when it comes to submitting the artwork for the artists. I am an artist and if I have taken the time to do the research to find a gallery that is a good fit for me, shipped out my portfolio to be tossed aside or be sent back without even been looked at is just unforgivable. Otherwise, this book is well written and easy to read.
In this book which will soon be dated IMHO, he still maintains the gallery having the power to accept or reject the artists they deem worthy and more often than not the gallery owners don't even bother to go through the portfolios submitted by the artists who may very well can be a good fit for the gallery. That just sounds wrong as to me it is part of their job to be doing their diligent homework and research in seeking out qualified artists instead of cowering to face to face confrontation. However, I am not a gallery owner so I am not going to make that judgement call.
What I am observing is that with the changing trend at this time, it will soon be the artists who will be doing the picking and choosing of the galleries they would like to represent them instead of the other way around. Everyday more and more B&M Galleries are shutting down than opening up. With the booming internet sales, artists are thriving and if they are talented enough and have learnt the proper marketing skills (through research and reading books) they have a pretty far reach (sometimes even global) when it comes to finding proper collectors for their art. It will need more than the ego stroking validation that would lure them to have their work sold in a gallery. Again, this book is written from a gallery owner's perspective not the artist so of course there is a difference of opinion.
Lastly, I am also noticing that most galleries are expecting the artists to pick up the shipping cost of the artwork they are shipping to the gallery and then then gallery shipping it back to them after a few weeks if the artwork does not sell. That is huge and something to be taken notice of.
I am grateful to Jason Horejs to have written this book because the romance of having my work represented in a gallery setting has now cease to exist -- at least for the time being. I can market my work better than any gallery that has represented me to date, and as far as the 'prestige' is concerned -- it is far more exciting to have the patrons visit me face to face and buy directly from me. Yes, at first it is a lot of work, but then in time the relationships develops and that alone does the marketing for the artist.
BOTTOM-LINE: If you are an artist seeking a gallery to represent you and that is your goal in life, this is the best book for you. It will tell you exactly how to go about seeking the gallery representation and how to handle yourself in front of the gallery owner. If you are good in self-promotion and have an outgoing personality, this may not be the book for you. If you are an awesome artist who has full faith in yourself and your ability to succeed, you can find patrons with or without any gallery representation.
The reason I am giving three instead of five stars is because the writer/gallery owner Jason Horejs did not present the solution to a problem he stated when it comes to submitting the artwork for the artists. I am an artist and if I have taken the time to do the research to find a gallery that is a good fit for me, shipped out my portfolio to be tossed aside or be sent back without even been looked at is just unforgivable. Otherwise, this book is well written and easy to read.
In this book which will soon be dated IMHO, he still maintains the gallery having the power to accept or reject the artists they deem worthy and more often than not the gallery owners don't even bother to go through the portfolios submitted by the artists who may very well can be a good fit for the gallery. That just sounds wrong as to me it is part of their job to be doing their diligent homework and research in seeking out qualified artists instead of cowering to face to face confrontation. However, I am not a gallery owner so I am not going to make that judgement call.
What I am observing is that with the changing trend at this time, it will soon be the artists who will be doing the picking and choosing of the galleries they would like to represent them instead of the other way around. Everyday more and more B&M Galleries are shutting down than opening up. With the booming internet sales, artists are thriving and if they are talented enough and have learnt the proper marketing skills (through research and reading books) they have a pretty far reach (sometimes even global) when it comes to finding proper collectors for their art. It will need more than the ego stroking validation that would lure them to have their work sold in a gallery. Again, this book is written from a gallery owner's perspective not the artist so of course there is a difference of opinion.
Lastly, I am also noticing that most galleries are expecting the artists to pick up the shipping cost of the artwork they are shipping to the gallery and then then gallery shipping it back to them after a few weeks if the artwork does not sell. That is huge and something to be taken notice of.
I am grateful to Jason Horejs to have written this book because the romance of having my work represented in a gallery setting has now cease to exist -- at least for the time being. I can market my work better than any gallery that has represented me to date, and as far as the 'prestige' is concerned -- it is far more exciting to have the patrons visit me face to face and buy directly from me. Yes, at first it is a lot of work, but then in time the relationships develops and that alone does the marketing for the artist.
BOTTOM-LINE: If you are an artist seeking a gallery to represent you and that is your goal in life, this is the best book for you. It will tell you exactly how to go about seeking the gallery representation and how to handle yourself in front of the gallery owner. If you are good in self-promotion and have an outgoing personality, this may not be the book for you. If you are an awesome artist who has full faith in yourself and your ability to succeed, you can find patrons with or without any gallery representation.
November 4, 2013
I read this at the request of my mom as I am helping her prepare for gallery interviews.
Horejs has written a book that is easy to read and understand, as well as very approachable. I think it's a great as an overview of one person's opinion, but the reader needs to pick and choose what will actually be helpful to them. Also, it should be noted that this definitively comes from the perspective of a gallery owner not an artist. There is some obvious advice, some advice that seems ill-advised, and some helpful advice.
It definitely needed another copyedit. Content-wise, it would have been helpful to have examples (such as his gallery/artist interview), where Horejs addresses what to do when an outcome isn't positive. For example, when you approach a gallery and they aren't interested, what is your next move? Do you keep mailing them with new work, give them your contact information, etc.
Overall, probably not the best book, but a good jumping off point for those looking to get started.
Horejs has written a book that is easy to read and understand, as well as very approachable. I think it's a great as an overview of one person's opinion, but the reader needs to pick and choose what will actually be helpful to them. Also, it should be noted that this definitively comes from the perspective of a gallery owner not an artist. There is some obvious advice, some advice that seems ill-advised, and some helpful advice.
It definitely needed another copyedit. Content-wise, it would have been helpful to have examples (such as his gallery/artist interview), where Horejs addresses what to do when an outcome isn't positive. For example, when you approach a gallery and they aren't interested, what is your next move? Do you keep mailing them with new work, give them your contact information, etc.
Overall, probably not the best book, but a good jumping off point for those looking to get started.
July 10, 2013
This book is okay. the author doesn't live in Los Angeles, so much of his advice came from where his gallery is and how things work in Scottsdale. The book is written for John Doe living in Missouri and trying to get into a gallery far away. Some of the content is good though, but stuff I already knew like organizing your works and keeping records, etc. Bottom line, I think in LA is you have to have another artist champion you with the owner to get into a gallery.
February 12, 2019
Full of information
This is full of information and guidelines. I. Know not everyone will follow all these steps as it will be a lot of work. I look forward to the challenge of taking this information and applying it to my like and work.
This is full of information and guidelines. I. Know not everyone will follow all these steps as it will be a lot of work. I look forward to the challenge of taking this information and applying it to my like and work.
July 10, 2024
Horejs writes advice from the perspective of a gallerist for prospective career artists. There’s some really great advice here that can help many artists understand the business side of the art industry. Especially pertinent is the section discussing useful and not so useful tools - portfolios, web presence, artist bio and statements to business cards and brochures.
Written in 2009, it’s only been 15 years (2024 at the time of this review) and technology has drastically changed the way artists market and sell their work. Horejs falls short when considering the passage of time and how social media has empowered direct artist to consumer sales.
Written in 2009, it’s only been 15 years (2024 at the time of this review) and technology has drastically changed the way artists market and sell their work. Horejs falls short when considering the passage of time and how social media has empowered direct artist to consumer sales.
April 30, 2010
Inspiring, a particularly easy, enjoyable read. Great for artists as well as anyone trying to sell creative hand-made items. I'm not a trypical self-help reader, but I'm trying all of the author/gallery owner's suggestions.
December 21, 2011
I think this will be rather helpful in the years to come. Clear, straight forward and not at all pretencious, as other "how to" art business guides seem to be.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews