I took a firm grip on myself today and applied for exhibitions in two locations I have had in mind for some time. Thinking about the decision afterwards it struck me that we artists often find ourselves in a kind of double bind of a complex kind, that undermines us.
There is a temptation to refrain from approaching exhibition venues because we fear that rejection will undermine our confidence. Then the lack of exposure of our work makes us feel under-valued. The other common mind-game is to respond to rejection by a gallery by telling ourselves that our work is serious art, and not merely commercial. Once again, the result is to withdraw from the process, and confirm the impression that we are not succeeding.
Actually, you need to be quite thick-skinned to be an artist, and press ahead with self-promotion regardless of initial indifference or rejection. The tactic I’ve tried today is to emphasise in my approach my existing track record of exhibition. I’m not sure yet that it will be effective, but it certainly makes me feel better. Some people might find it surprising to discover what the likely “hit rate” is for exhibition venues. At the start of the year I approached (I think) about six venues, from which I received one positive response. It is about time that I launched another concentrated offensive.