A gallery is a place, either virtual online or as a local business, where artworks are displayed and offered for sale. Commercial art galleries specialize in particular areas and styles of contemporary art. Some galleries exhibit figurative art, others abstract and still others conceptual.
The term comes from the Latin “galeria”, the original name for the Florentine palace where the Medici family exhibited their artworks. It later evolved into the modern meaning of a commercial art salesroom.
Generally, galleries work with living artists who collaborate in the gallery on the basis of a mutually beneficial relationship. The gallery promotes the artist’s oeuvre to the public, builds up an impressive portfolio, and offers its services in exchange for a share of the profits by the sale of artworks (usually 50-50% agreement).
In addition to exhibition and sales activities, a gallery does much more behind the scenes. It takes care of transportation, invoicing, communication with collectors, monitoring the value of the artworks on the secondary market, etc. Moreover, galleries often organize and participate in art fairs to boost their portfolio internationally and help their artists to find new opportunities for exhibition or sale.
Galleries also work with artists on a long-term basis to support them as they grow their careers, build up their art resume and collector base, and develop a professional art practice. They may help with finding studio space or providing advice on their career path. Some galleries also offer financial support to their artists by paying for materials, providing studio space, and offering loans to enable the artist to produce more work.
In the same way, galleries do everything possible to ensure that their artists are successful – because it’s good for them and for the gallery as well! A successful artist brings in more revenue, so the gallery is motivated to push their artists and promote them as best as they can. This is what makes galleries a win-win for both artists and art lovers.
One important point to keep in mind is that a gallery should have clear and informative descriptions of the artworks on their website. This helps first-time visitors to better understand the content and to help with SEO, as well.
It is worth mentioning that galleries will usually display prices of the artworks on their websites, in their catalogs or elsewhere. However, this information is not always obvious or easy to find and it is highly recommended that you do a little research before visiting an art gallery and make sure that you know what to expect in terms of prices and availability. This is particularly true for a gallery that specializes in figurative, abstract or other specific genres of art. A little background knowledge can help you to better plan your visit, select the works that you are interested in and negotiate a price if you decide to buy something. This will also allow you to avoid any unpleasant surprises when you come to pick up your purchase.