Visual Language Magazine Vol 4 No 4

Barry W. Scharf
All in Vain
Albeit there is a catch… “The bait is taken”,
you are on the hook and being reeled
in. At this point it is revealed that there
is price for this representation which includes
an up front payment in the thousands
of dollars for curatorial representation.
In addition you will be responsible for
all cost of crating, insuring and shipping
your work to and from the gallery. Now if
you live far away (but of course you do
that’s why you were selected) this can be
a considerable cost and an investment of
this magnitude could break most artists
struggling to get by.
Is it a scam? Yes and no. There is a remote
chance that they could sell something; in
addition you can add a prestigious show
name in New York to your resume, and
you can say you belong to a real gallery.
However, it is more likely and doubtful
that you will see any return on your investment
beyond vanity kudos. The let
down after all the expense, effort and
wasted energy, can be overwhelming.
Now not all galleries or competitions fall
into the category of predator. There are
many that are good and mean well. I felt a
need to write this article because artists
need to be on the lookout not so trusting
of every promise. We need to ask questions
about intentions; we need to evaluate
cost verses outcome. If we do we
can avoid the web that draws on ego and
vanity. Just be careful out there.
Receiving
http://barrywscharf.squarespace.com/
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