The Good, The Bad, and The “Meh”

As we announced on social media, we’re officially going to be a mom and pop art gallery business.  It’s also official however, that we’re closing.  Suffice to say, life priorities change and call it what you want, Vestige Concept Gallery as it is known at 5417 Butler Street will be closed on 12/31/2023.  (Almost made it to that 4th year…)  It’s not a defeat or going out of business financially, so much as it’s having to perform the only selfish act that we have ever done (i.e. closing).   (Note: that “I” use “we” interchangeably, as this business includes Kelsey (who may not endorse these opinions), and the business entity itself). 

$200 and a Credit Card

Awards should be given for this type of bootstrapping and along with it, the segue into ending up on the cover of Pittsburgh Business Times (Headline: Guy Creates Successful Business With $200 and a Credit Card) or the 40 Under 40 List (I’m currently 39- so close!)  These dreams have sadly not come to pass (at least not yet).  Hundreds of art pieces and tens of thousands of dollars paid-out-to-artists later, things are just as they say “business as usual.”  There’s no award for years staying open.  Although it’s not a compliant, our take of sold art is just unfortunately not enough to muster the further energy in the face of rent and fixed cost.  Custom works of art where we take 100% sales also require a large amount of energy to produce.  People that understood “unique” (as opposed to mass produced) knew where to look, and chances were that on any given day you would have a free painting demonstration if you walked into the gallery.    

Truth be told, we started a successful art gallery from nothing, with the basic premise to provide immediate opportunities for people who are tired of waiting around for the wank at the pseudo-art-elitist jerk circle, or have to write a novela and give a blood sample to take a shot at a grant, with “waiting around” being the general lament.  As it began in December 2020, an art gallery is like having one long party, where the host has to continually make things interesting for people to attend.  In Zoolander, when he says “That Hansel is so hot”- is kind of the idea.  You and your gallery are either hot (or not).  In order to keep the party fresh, we opened up the place to anyone interested in showing with the caveat that it was curated.   As many have probably noticed, there was always some sort of “party” happening at the gallery.  Suffice to say, it has all taken a toll on my personal health.

 

We worked fast, and are a great gallery if you are looking to make a quick and decent buck.  Above us, there are definitely much slicker galleries, and below, you have a booth. Take your pick.  We truly appreciate the artists who invested their time, money, and energy on us.  While we’ve been accused of “pay to play” (which is true), we’ve always felt that it was more “pay it forward” and after all, someone needs to run the whole show.  The only real money came from Sales, albeit inconsistent for the higher priced pieces.  Unlike a day job, there is no salary direct-deposited every week.  Trying to guess at the tastes of everyone is also quite difficult.  Not every piece of art was amazing, and not every show was a runaway success.  It happens, and you learn to live with it.  In the end, it’s not my art and we tried to make things fun and interesting.  

When under the gun to constantly pay rent, you don’t get infinite chances to experiment and take risks on seemingly unknown artists.  Truth be told, we don’t really like a lot of artists out there, and a lot of it is just not that interesting. Heck, you probably already DIY, and hurrah for that, you’re among endless legions of competitors looking to sell their art (somehow).  The flip side of all of this, is that so-called artists of “caliber” aren’t knocking on our doors to be represented.  That’s not to say that we haven’t had artist’s of caliber (there’s been plenty) it’s just that investing thousands of dollars into another person that is not ourselves is a risky endeavor- when we would rather invest the money in ourselves and play it safe.  A case could be made for taking greater risks in business.  Sure, it’s been easier creating a situation where people come to us, when it’s no secret: there is a larger demand from artists to be seen than there is from consumers for the art itself.  However, we’ve done more than due diligence in both.  It would be one thing to never open or sit there and do absolutely nothing.   

Therefore, for all of the questions we’ve fielded for “why don’t you do more solo shows?” and “why do you keep doing these mixed/theme shows,” that is the simple answer.  The more complicated answer is that we’re just not that into your art, specifically.  The times we have brought in art pieces by the names that a buyer or collector says, those same buyers and so-called collectors don’t even show up to look at it, and we throw away money on shipping.  With that, I say that we have tried risk.  One of the worst parts of the dying breed of Main Street businesses is that overall customer loyalty just well… sucks.   The time and energy to invest in highly particular artists can be reserved for the leftover 1990’s/2000’s Pittsburgh scene “A-listers,” and silver-spoon galleries who open a handful (or spoonful) of times per month, and while we don’t doubt that the artists they host make “ok” art and both gallery and artist probably make a lot more money than us, their work is akin to what The Clarks are to the Pittsburgh music scene.  If you’ve been around Pittsburgh for as long as we have, you’ll understand what that means. 

I’d rather be out of business than deal with hack-abstract artists and even bigger egos in let’s face it… Pittsburgh.  I can say that only because I’m from here.

We’re just regular people- perhaps part of the enduring appeal of whatever it is that we’re doing, and part of why we have never received the golden anointment from one of very few keyholders in the Pittsburgh arts community at large.  Most of those keyholders are boring and have shallow personalities and as I believe, shun us.  We called bullshit for what it is and tried to provide people at least with some sort of other alternative.  

Pittsburgh: Some Place Special (Or So We Pretend)  

Being from Pittsburgh (80’s, 90’s… to today) it is my dubious honor to present my opinions on the pros and cons.  Outside of here, I lived in Chicago for roughly 8 years and have been to multiple countries, continents, world heritage sites, and the like.  I’m sure that in the end, a lot of cities and towns are the same that with over time, you would find the same sorts of things (i.e. the mundane).  And heck, there are probably a lot worse places than Pittsburgh.  On top of that, everyplace has its cheapskates, undercutters, spiers, haters, phony-wannabes, so-called “cultured” women that basically only fuck rich guys, “cultured” men that are misogynistic asshats, douchebros, rednecks, hood rats, etc.   I’m sure we’ve all experienced these people at some point.  

The problem with Pittsburgh is two fold:  it’s a fair weather bandwagon city where in order for anyone to appreciate something new, there has to be at least some sort of majority already doing it.  In a city of hundreds of thousands of people, roughly 80% of them won’t do anything that doesn’t involve a football, or a dancing food item or condiment.  Hell, the city is best known for football and a fucking condiment.   It elects Baron Batch (was he a Steeler?) as it’s best artist, and a yellow bridge as it’s art-du-jour.  So-called “culture” is confined to a limited number of institutions and key-holders.  I’m the “so and so” virtue-signaling curator at the Carnegie, Mellon, Frick, this or that-institutions named after wealthy old white men that literally worked people to death for very little pay.  Therefore, It’s also a hard working town, where undoubtedly, you have to earn some sort of respect or reason why people want to spend their hard earned dollars on you.  

The second problem with Pittsburgh is that it’s full of haters, but not a lot of critics.  “How can that be,” you ask? Hating on people can be anonymous, and shitting on ideas (and businesses, etc.) is easy.  Critically, the circle of “importants” is so small that you can’t say anything remotely honest or critical of anyone or anything without being ostracized.  Art critic Jerry Saltz once wrote that in New York City for instance, you can afford to lose 50 followers because you can gain 100’s more.  It’s easy in a large town, but not a small one.  What does this lead to?   This leads to a scenario where “everybody gets a turn” and everyone’s stuff is treated equally and without criticism (until it’s not).  Everyone is forced to play nice to each other.  This sort of egalitarian stupidity is why the city has barely (if not ever) produced any superstars by way of art or music, and I’m not talking about George Benson, Wiz Khalifa, or Donnie Iris.  People in Pittsburgh cannot simply be allowed to give their time or energy to back one really good thing that doesn’t involve a food item or the playoffs.  That is, until that thing moves away and becomes much more successful- then everyone in Pittsburgh takes credit for it (i.e. Andy Warhol or Michael Keaton).

That’s not to say that Vestige Concept Gallery is the holy messiah of the art world, after all, it’s just a small business. But with all of the art-loving, virtue-signaling, cultured people out there, the visitorship and community support could have been a whole hell of a lot better.  When I say “community support” what I mean is that the support for our gallery came from everywhere else other than the actual community where the gallery resided.  It makes sense to put your business in a “hip” neighborhood on “Main Street” next to million-dollar condos, and a soon-to-be- Michelin Star restaurant, and what a lucky deal you have!  Sure thing right?  Wrong.  As an art gallery, we’ve been for 3 years more like Pusadee’s Personal Parking Lot.  Watch my Escalade take up two parking spots while I go stuff my face full of $600 worth of seafood (and then say you can’t afford a piece of fine art).  That’s your prerogative, sure, but answer me that in 25 shows, with hundreds and hundreds of pieces of art, that you can’t even manage to venture inside and look?  And looking is 100% free.  Fuck it, I think I’ll buy it Online and then wonder what happened to all the retail in my community. 

One story I remember in particular.  It was our first Christmas as a business, December of 2021.  We installed a miniature railroad in our window display.  Two kids wanted so badly to watch the train before douche-daddy grabbed them and told them “get away from there” before tossing them into the back of a Range Rover.

What of those million dollar condos?  3 years- maybe 2 people?  $100?  Everyone else that you might call “foot traffic” are just dog walkers and joggers.  Dog walkers and joggers, dog walkers and joggers.  And COOKIE TOUR people: THE WORST OF SOCIETY.  (i.e. “Where’s your free cookies?”- never looks at the merchandise).  Like I said, if it doesn’t involve food, condiments, or sports, you’re SOL.  When you work in a shop long enough to see enough dogs take shits and the humans that follow them around cleaning it up, you realize that perhaps fine art is just too overwhelming for that type of brain.  Meet me at the Dog Brewery in yoga pants, Brad.  Oh well.  I doubt I am the first human to have these thoughts. Take that same art gallery or shop though and put it in a foreign country- and it’s the coolest place you’ve never seen before.  

Not The Bitter End

Suffice to say, although being stuck in the same room for three years lends to both positive and negative experiences, I have to say that the overwhelming amount of experiences and support have been extremely positive.  There’s no manual for doing things the right or wrong way, and a lot of running this has been trial and error, and a TON of fun.  The party is over though.  What counts in the art business (like any business), is having the clientele.  We’ve had great clients, just not enough, consistently.  Advertising is also risky and very expensive.  What many never realize, is that we sold a lot of art that was never even in the gallery or on the walls and these experiences (a.k.a. home decoration) are where a gallery can really begin to turn a profit.  Getting a client to trust you with that judgement can be tricky, as we live in a DIY world where people can shop art online or buy it through other channels.  I was once asked to provide references (which I did) and then never heard from the person again.  I believe that they did it to feel like a big shot.  

Emerging Art and Artists are an “you get what you see and pay for” kind of endeavor.  What I mean is that typically the price reflects exactly what it is and who made it.  If you like the artwork, you are trading what you are willing to spend on something that you enjoy and makes you happy.  The likelihood that an Emerging Artist is going to become “big” and the piece increase in value is about the same odds of winning the lottery.  If you wanted to sell the art, you would probably get what you paid for it, less, or only slightly more.  Vestige Concept Gallery for consumers was about providing the highest quality art at a realistic price.  If you spend thousands more someplace else, you probably let the smoke get blown up your ass.  But, the art world exists in that sort of way for a reason.  In the end, anything is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it, and if you like it, you like it. 

If you have bought art from our Gallery, we thank you sincerely and hope that that you continue to appreciate the work for many years to come.  We will likely continue in some shape or form, as it has been a major time and energy investment into running the business and to the community.  For all of the other visitors and supporters- thank you as well! 

-Alex   

 

WHY SOME ARTISTS CAN’T SEEM TO WRAP THEIR HEAD AROUND COMMISSIONS

Now go home and get your f**kin’ shine box.  Ok, ok, we don’t mean “you’s” no disrespect, and sure, a lot can happen or be said by accident.  As we have said throughout The Gallerist: never take anything personally.  We don’t; but snide cheap shots, delusions of grandeur, and wasting people’s time with outrageous pricing is well… a waste of time.  Much of what we write about in our blog is based on real experience, and we feel compelled in an honest way to share that experience with the rest of the world in order to foster a better understanding for how it all works.   

The Gallery is a Casino (Sort Of)

 

Maybe instead of a Goodfellas meme, we should have used a Casino meme?  In the world of the non-finite/non-guaranteed, dealing with artwork is a gamble for both the Artist and the Gallery.  Why? 

For The Artist:  most galleries require you to spend money to ship product, and perhaps charge a small (or large) fee to participate.  The further away, the higher the shipping, the higher the gamble, especially if you factor is something like size and weight. If you price too low, you risk losing money, but, if you price too high, you risk not selling anything at all, and subsequently paying to get your art sent back.  Most of the time you might not know the experience level of the gallery, or whether anybody staffed there actually does anything at all to sell.  Or–you’re not “in it” for sales or do the “NFS” thing (with a for-profit business), in which case, you are wasting someone’s time; unless, you’re showing in an exhibition with a school or a non-for profit and you understand there are no stakes or very little sales incentive.  If you live in the same city as a gallery, you’re not needing to recoup anything for shipping, so don’t expect to price things higher.  

For The Gallery:  Although art is their business, untested art is a huge gamble, especially when there is overhead involved.  As we have said in the past, unless you operate at the highest echelons, most artists (and mid-level galleries that host them) generally fall into the category of “untested”.  The word means exactly that.  Nobody knows who you are and whether you will sell.  However, even “tested” work can be a gamble if their is no market or demand for it.   If the curator selects work that is terrible, nothing sells. If the work is priced astronomically high for your market range, you risk that nothing sells. Most of the time, a gallery is exhibiting in order to test the untested in the mere hopes that they can make some money by selecting quality works of art and building repeat clientele that trust their vision and/or expertise.  Likewise, an artist tests different markets for who might be interested in their product, and that’s normal.  

What Are Commissions?  

 

As you may or may not know, commissions are typically an amount of money paid to a salesperson in order to sell something for you.  For some people, they fixate on the idea that this is somehow a scam or that the salesperson is ripping them off.  Worse, fixating on the idea “Why do they deserve the money for something that is mine?”   (Remember–if you could sell it yourself, you would).  The majority of the time (to the benefit of a gallery) it is artists looking for galleries, and not necessarily the other way around.  However, that’s not always the case. High-end galleries typically select artists that they want to work with, and in turn, it is a higher stakes gamble, usually involving a larger “bet” (i.e. overhead, rent, etc.) Prices of works in these types of galleries are, as you can imagine, considerably higher. In many instances, the gallery is taking 50% commission and feels confident that the higher price tag is normal for their level of clientele.  The other 50% is in theory what the artist is comfortable accepting for their work.  The downside is that high-end galleries may only show one artist at a time and likely have a “no solicitations policy” for everyone else.  Regardless, all galleries that don’t rely on a trust fund are essentially competing for the same thing: selling art.  

Should you opt to listen to social media, and all of the “do-it-yourself” type ads decrying art galleries as some sort of scam, just remember that the gallery is one of the fewest (and shrinking) ways to display physical art in a setting conducive to selling art.  For most consumers, seeing is believing. All of those “do it yourself” online art markets, are also, by the way, charging you fees and commissions.  Guess what?  Membership based organizations are charging you dues with the trade-off that their member shows have a larger marketing range.  They may only host 1-4 larger shows per year.   There’s also nobody there selling anything.  One recent member show we attended in Pittsburgh was staffed only by elderly volunteers and had inconsistent hours of operation.

With online marketplaces, it’s you versus the entire world (and you’ll probably still lose out on the shipping). 

#1 Assumption

 

As we said, commissions are an amount paid to a salesperson to do work for you, assuming they are doing what they are supposed to be doing. Assumption #1 however, is that the gallery or salesperson is just sitting there doing nothing and customers and art buyers/collectors are just magically lining up at the door.  Unfortunately, that’s not how it works. With any sale of something expensive (say, over $80), there is a lot more involved. This usually means “courting” and/or gathering leads and retaining the proper clients. Courting can be anything from texts, emails, and phone calls, targeted marketing and advertising, to driving art to peoples houses, hosting receptions, and dropping money at restaurants and bars. Additionally, it also means having to open the gallery and be there for long periods of time and during off-hours for special appointments, and, curating pieces that you think a client will like. Hint: all of this work is unpaid. On average, VCG is open about 23-30 hours a week, but the work never stops. Those hours include every Friday and Saturday night, and both Saturday and Sunday mornings (peak hours). This doesn’t include “off the clock” time for home appointments, attending other gallery receptions, artist studio visits, shipping and handling, and managing up to three or more shows at a time (the one in the gallery, and the next two that haven’t even happened yet).  

So, if you have ever wondered why a salesperson should get paid “for doing nothing”, remember, that while you’re out having fun with your friends and family, eating brunch, going on vacations, playing with your kids, and enjoying your weekends, there is somebody else working their ass off to sell your stuff.  That’s also not to mention the time that the artist gets to spend working on the art, and not having to deal with marketing and sales. Conversely, the Gallery is in business by choice, but money is made through hustle, sacrifice, and having the motivation and sheer energy to do it. 

How To Upset A Salesperson (And Not Be Invited Again)

 

Most artists might think they go unnoticed when it comes to pricing (and that’s fine, please do the homework and the math), but the reality is, salespeople check. The guaranteed way to upset a salesperson is a situation where you feel that you need to raise your price in order for the salesperson to “earn” their money.  In a sense, making it that much more challenging to sell your stuff.  We’re not saying that your time and art are not valuable, but at the very least, try to meet in the middle somewhere and for God’s sake- don’t even say the words “for you to earn your money” out loud.

Passively, you may mark up the commission on top of your price on a loan contract and think that no one will notice. How can you tell?  Initially you stated “A”, and then you wrote “B”.   Beyond that is the fact that the art just isn’t worth that much money (BTW–it is also still showing on the Artist’s website listed for a much lower price).  

Depending on time and any potential interest from a Buyer, the Gallery will pick up the phone or write an email to ask an Artist what is the case with the markup, and start the process of negotiating.  As part of the gamble, if you remain firm, you risk losing it all.  With group shows, most prices come in ranges, and unless there is something egregious, there just isn’t enough time to email and call everyone who pulls an increase. If that’s the price you want, sure, that’s the price that we’ll list.  It’s funny though, when the price sheet has that glaring $6,000 price tag for something that may be worth $900 (minus commission of course) and everything else on the price list is $2,000 or below.  Overpricing (especially when done at the last minute) makes both the Artist and the Gallery look bad.  A good Gallery will however select works within price ranges that are compatible to everything on display (but that’s not to say that sometimes there is a Wild Card or two).   

Bottom line, don’t think it goes unnoticed and when in doubt, ask the Gallery or Salesperson.  If they don’t respond or give you a rude response, than they probably aren’t somebody that you want to work with.   It’s not that the skills of the salesperson are bad and they don’t dream of making thousands of dollars, it’s simply that the object is overpriced for what it is, skill level aside.  Every sellable object has a limit and most salespeople are not Donald Draper.  

Sheer Cluelessness

Unfortunately, a Gallery cannot fix plain dumb.   As a Gallery, we reach out to people on social media, etc., from time to time and ask them for a price.  Here’s a great example (and the art wasn’t that good):  

 

We are assuming the Artist thought we wanted to buy the piece off of them directly.    Either way, a gallery is not buying a piece of unknown art into Inventory for $4900 and then trying to resell it.  Nor are they going to waste their time taking it on loan and marking it up to earn their commission.  Maybe in some far-off world of the global cabal of elite galleries and collectors. We should venture to say that if you’re making that much money, you’re not probably not answering random Instagram messages. If you have 50K+ followers, why is it still unsold?  Because BOTS don’t buy art.  Even if this Artist assumed a 50% split, that means the piece is worth half as much, and then another 50% of that.  Therefore, the piece’s actual worth is $1,225 on the high end, which should be the real List Price, and get split another 30%-50% on commission if sold.  So, the artist’s take-home price of the piece is $612.50, which is about what the piece was it is worth at a glance.

(P.S. The hilarious part is that the artist then offers a 10% discount and free shipping, as though this is some kind of concession. Think that’s rude to them?  An equally sized piece from this Artist was listed elsewhere online for half as much, and the piece in question was made 3 years ago (i.e. sitting around in your Inventory).  Three words: “Adios, good luck“.  

 

Standing Firm

While we respect that Artist’s have a certain sense of pride, being (or acting) firm can sometimes be another chump move.  Standard practice dictates that whatever you say your price is, the Gallery or salesperson can go 5-10% discount without permission, if it means making a deal (and especially if it is an Art Collector).  Sure, Art Collectors have money–but they don’t need more art.  What Artists may not realize, is that a Buyer might be interested in 4 different things, with the intention of only buying one of them. This is where in all fairness, price matching sometimes come into play, especially if that means all 4 things fall into relatively the same price range.  Something is getting sold, and by this point in time, the salesperson is not taking into account your personal feelings on the matter.  

Therefore, if yours is the art that sells, don’t cry about the 10% discount. Remember above, the amount of work it took to even get to that point, and that out of a room full of art changing constantly, yours was even considered up to that point in time, whether as a goal of the salesperson, or from the interest of a Buyer. 

Worse yet, don’t tell the salesperson that they somehow fucked up or say something to the effect of “well that should come out of your commission.”  Grossly underselling something is one thing. Discounting for a Collector is another, especially when it means more business–and more potential business and/or exposure for the artist.   When dealing with extreme amounts of money by all means be upset (or maybe go to court).  But in the realm of the mid-range, haggling over $25-$40.  If it went from $2,500 to $2,250. Just don’t. The businessman is going to do what the businessman is going to do.  If you don’t like it, don’t loan the art in the first place.

Not many people wake up in the morning and think “I’m going to go buy a wall hanging today.” As you might imagine, selling art and getting people interested in art (outside of certain major destination art cities), can be a challenge.  This is also not to mention competing with the Internet, and home decor places like Ikea, West Elm, and the like.  Mass produced aside, a Gallery is looking for the most unique objects possible, and inviting people who buy those types of things to come and hang out at their place.  All art is unique, but in the larger world of art, many styles and motifs are not.  Abstract art may be in high fashion, but that doesn’t mean that yours is going to sell. 

Space For Lease

Take a 30% commission for example.  On a $500 painting, the Gallery takes $150 and the artist takes $350.   If the gallery costs $2,000 per month to operate, they would have to sell nearly fourteen $500 paintings just to break even- and they aren’t even keeping their commission, let alone a livable salary. 

Maybe they sell one $3,000 painting–that’s still only $900 for the gallery.  You can see where this is going.  Look at things from a  different perspective:  instead of paying a commission, you are paying for the a sublease of a section of wall within a building.  What?  We’ll explain:  if the piece sells in the opening night, you may wonder what skill was involved in selling it and why pay the commission for not a whole lot of work?  Well: a.) the lead-up to the Reception in and of itself is a lot of work, and b.) your artwork is still going to hang there for a month or two with a red dot on it, thereby occupying a piece of real estate that could otherwise be used to sell something else.  If your art is large you pay large, and if small, you pay small.  

This is not to say that money can’t be had if all of the cards are played correctly. Either way, commission is price that artists have to pay, sometimes not scratching the surface of the salesperson’s overhead (in a brick and mortar setting).  Low price items may be there to attract walk-ins, who in turn, may spend more on mid-higher priced items. Not all commissions are equal to the relative size of the space they occupy.  They are reflective primarily to the expertise and market position of the salesperson.   Whatever your bet may be low or high, it’s all part of rolling the dice to get work shown and hopefully, some money in your pocket.