Passing the Exhausted Hares

Over the summer I promised to reveal the special project that forced me to cut back on blogging. I was hesitant to do so for two reasons: 1) I wasn't at all sure how it would turn out and whether my publisher would like it (yes, I wrote a book); and 2) as the world economic situation crumbled all around us, I thought it a particularly cruel joke by God that this would be the backdrop against which I announced a book titled How to Start and Run a Commercial Art Gallery. There's not much information about it yet up on Amazon* (it comes out in July 2009), but I am relieved to report that my publisher said he enjoyed reading it, so I'm more comfortable announcing it.

The second issue, though, remained a source of hesitation. I asked my publisher (it feels so strange to use that phrase, "my publisher"...[OK, who am I kidding? I love using it]), the truly brilliant and very patient Tad Crawford of Allworth Press, whose art world publications are more artist-centric and bursting with useful information than those of any publisher out there IMO, whether he was sure he wanted to launch such a book at a time when galleries, like every other small business, were struggling. Mr. Crawford assured me that the book will be marketed with a shelf-life in mind of about 10 years, and that in that context, now is actually a very good time to get such a book into the market, as now is when people who may want to open a gallery when the market turns up again should begin planning for it.

As we get closer to the pub date, I'll share excerpts from the book. I think there is plenty in it that could help artists wishing to work with a commercial gallery, collectors, and budding dealers. Much of it is based on interviews I conducted with experts in the gallery business and related fields, but much of it is also based on the very conversations we've had on this blog. Toward that end (and I do so in the book as well), I would like to thank those of you who regularly contribute to the conversations here, sharing your insights and/or questions about the business. You continuously refine what I think it means to run a commercial art gallery.

In thinking through Mr. Crawford's long-term view of the book's potential market, though, it dawned on me that a long-term approach to their own market is something artists should be thinking about now as well. As the market turns down, some galleries close, non-profit spaces see their budgets tightened, and exhibition opportunities in general become harder to find perhaps, now is the time to think past the recession in terms of where your career can go.

That may mean scaling back on your studio expenses but taking advantage of how much nicer everyone becomes when times get tough to network more with curators, collectors and other artists. It may mean freedom to start that large, time-consuming project you had put off because of the constant demands to produce for your market. It may mean simply digging in to explore that subject or sharpen your skills in a way the hectic feeding frenzy we're leaving made feel indulgent or impossible.

The opportunity now, obviously, is to be the tortoise, moving forward confidently, and passing the hares who will wear themselves out long before the finish line.

*Bambino thought it hysterical that the book is already discounted on Amazon. He nearly laughed himself into a fit. Have I mentioned he's a direct descendant of Genghis Khan?