I’m faced with a recurring problem, not only for myself but for any practising artist. Addressing the question of which of my works I ought to include in an exhibition, I find myself in a state of acute indecision. The problem doesn’t arise, of course, where I am committed from the outset to a particular group of works. When I approached Lincoln Cathedral with a proposal for an exhibition on the theme of The Green Man the choices were pretty well automatic. If I offer to a venue the opportunity to show the Set Apart series, there is no choice to be made.* At the moment, however, I find myself faced with a different kind of situation.
I have been invited to submit a small number of pieces for a group exhibition in a local commercial gallery. This presupposes that I will be guided in large measure by what I think are worthy representatives of what I can do. On the other hand, the display will be available during the run-up to Christmas and beyond, so that there is an expectation that visitors to the gallery might be open to the idea that they will find here something that would make a good Christmas present. Is there any way of knowing how that might work out in practice? I guess that probably indicates (in this region at least) a relatively modest price level. Do I offer what I consider to be my “best work” (whatever that means) or do I try to second-guess the public and make judgements about the nature of “popular” taste? Do I need to be guided by knowledge of who else will be exhibiting, so that we don’t all end up offering similar kinds of stuff?
At the moment I feel that what I need to do is quite simply to take the view that, “I like this. I think it is pretty good. I hope you will like it as much as I do. What is more, I hope that you are aware that it is cheap at the price.” I have until Friday to make up my mind. No doubt my final decision will only be reached on Friday morning.
*These are available to view in “galleries” elsewhere in this web-site.