I had another piece of good news today (to offset the discovery that our ‘phone has ceased to work.) Another of my approaches to galleries has met with a positive response. If things turn out the way they seem to be going I should have at least two good exhibition opportunities to show my work in the middle of next year.* Naturally I’m really delighted, and gratified that the hard work I put into correspondence over the past few months seems to be paying off.
This aspect of the work of an artist is often overlooked, as there is a natural tendency to focus upon the finished product of our efforts, whereas the question of how the public gets to see this stuff is not usually something that people ask about. There is, however, a great deal to do in this respect. It is necessary to identify exhibition opportunities at the right level. Let’s face it: the Tate Gallery isn’t going to respond favourably to an approach by me to show my work. Then an enormous amount of thought goes into the design of the proposal, so that an exhibition prospectus will come over as clearly focussed.
The hardest part of this process I find is the writing of a “personal statement”. There is a narrow line to be walked between giving a positive account of one’s work which is informative, and inflating one’s worth and achievements.
It is nice to feel that, on some occasions at least, I seem to get it right.
*I can’t give precise details yet because these are still being negotiated.