How to promote a talented and quite mature sculptor who never promoted himself in the last 20 years?

Its not that its "standard" for galleries to collect 50 to 70%.. its because he is an unknown... The high end for 3 dimensional art is usually in the 30% range. but again.. its been 15 years and he is out of the loop

Absolutely agree with this statement. The question becomes can you get the "right" exposure? And when I say that.. it depends on subject manor and the like.. who is the art targeting? who would buy it?


To run through this list real quick.. yes, you need photos of all the work... Those that are not sold, and those that have been sold IF POSSIBLE. On a website to show a collection of work, with some stating are sold, ( even tho it was sold 15 yrs ago ) still delivers the idea that this artists work is in demand. - A added note on the photos... these need to be high quality ( look at www.1stdibs.com for inspiration ) or the best quality you can produce.. decent lighting a decent background.. nice pedestals. Video 360 rotation videos ( because we are talking about sculpture here would be an added bonus )

Finding him online, to link to from his site.. a good idea.

Fresh content... hes comfortable with? Art is the depiction of a story.. a moment in time.. sometimes that story has to be told, to reveal a pieces true meaning... each piece has such a story.. it maybe a thought or a moment or something.. anything you can reveal about how a piece was created.. more importantly WHY it was created, will create a personal connection between the artist, the piece and hopefully the patron that buys that piece... there is nothing comfortable about any of this.. he needs to wear his heart on his sleeve and then take his shirt off.

Create website.. FB, Insta, pintrest, I would suggest ETSY as well

Keyword selection... not so sure here.. I would shoot for keyword + city maybe..

Art portals... I would probably bypass this.. anyone that is serious about art is going to look for gallery profiles more than anything.

Non profits.. I would not seek them.. you know you are succeeding if they find you... if the idea is to sell artwork right now.. giving it away is not going to help.

Contacting "luxury Restaurants and wedding venues" start a bit smaller and approachable.. a coffee shop or the like? Maybe city hall or the chamber of commerce.

I would suggest, maybe not to start, but you will have to bite the bullet and do a gallery showing.. I would get all of these things in place... Its not even about building the buzz.. its about building the infrastructure to handle a buzz.

after the buzz structure is in place I would hunt down the person with the local paper ( mainstream and indie ) that covers the art scene and throw the idea of an interview.

IF you can develop a following, why not throw your own Gallery showing - just throwing that one out there.

Was just having a conversation with one of my "Artist" clients.. and I asked.. what would you do to get back in the game after being out for 15 yrs? He asked "Was I still producing those 15 yrs?" I said yes.. he said "Ensure my portfolio was up to par, and ask for a meeting, or if possible a viewing of all the pieces" He then giggles.. "We are talking about the art market.. the only way out is death, there will still be familiar faces after 15 yrs!" kinda amusing really.. and true.

All of what you suggest is sensible to do.

I understand the 50% and above commission rates.

There was a trend here in Australia where the smaller galleries that used to charge 25-33% all started to go out of business and the norm seemed to be 40%.

We also had changes in the tax system here that pushed people away from investing in art.

If you couple that with a lower Government commitment to support the arts you have a recipe for decline.

I would suggest your friend starts to enter competitions, awards and acquisition prizes.

Often the early stages require just submitting photographs of the artwork/sculpture before getting accepted.

It will cost some investment to go down this route but if his work is accepted into some major prizes regardless of whether he wins a prize or award or not it will give public exposure.

Once you have got some public exposure and a few recent entries listed then I would approach the galleries again to see if the work could be promoted to their clientele.

Commissions are always negotiable.

One thing most gallery owners like to do is show an artist's work over a number of years because they can gradually increase prices which shows past purchasers the wisdom of collecting the artist's work. This way the artist and the collect benefits

Build the profile up again and position the artist as a productive creator who only produces a certain number of works every year.

Find one good gallery to work with.

Sculpture is a bit trickier than paintings because you need a proactive gallery who supports the medium.

If there is a body of work that is unsold and the artist has a list of contacts who have bought past works you could hold a retrospective exhibition.

As part of the retrospective you publish a coffee table book or enhanced catalogue that you sell.

You also make sure past buyers exhibit their works and you also make sure the artist is on hand to sign and dedicate the "coffee-table book"

You can add other "art-cards" and promotional material that is positioned to sell to all attendees of the exhibition.

Regardless of whether you sell a lot of pieces you should aim to cover expenses via the peripheral materials.

A retrospective exhibition also reinforces the position of the artist.

There is a story of "WHY" they haven't been active for the last 15 years.

Leverage the story and create a buzz around the rebirth.

I've seen these things done many times.

The other thing is investigate Cruise Ship auctions - These guys seem to have a monopoly on the market and probably are high commission takers but. . . they might just have the biggest audience who pay over the odds for pieces - details here---> https://www.parkwestgallery.com/art-auctions

Best regards,

Ozi

Clearly he needs more sales and exposure.

A good website is a must have - Make sure to post a bio that's both flattering and interesting. Flattering because that's what everyone does - he's selling himself and should display all his virtues and accomplishments (just make sure it's told about him, not by him, so that he doesn't sound full of himself). Interesting because people love buying art from an artist with a good story.

Hold events and upload pics from them to the website. Even if few people attend an event, site visitors won't know that, and reporting the event and showing the artwork arranged in the venue along with pictures of people admiring it would give a good impression of activity. You need that on the website.

Once you have a website (not before that) - you'll need exposure.
i don't know what his art is about, but maybe his "refusal to succumb to the mighty galleries" might be played as a strength - an anti-establishment (or at least non-establishment) artist that paid a price for his beliefs. Many people dislike "the establishment" (whatever that is) recently and this motif could play real well (examples - Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump).

This could also be used to gain exposure:
I like that (just make sure you don't do anything that causes damage or is expensive to remove). A great idea that can be replicated - an artist in Israel quietly put in a main square a golden statue of Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu. He didn't disclose whether he was pro- or anti- Netanyahu, but the buzz was so big that it caught headlines worldwide (Wash.Post , Guardian, newsweek etc.) until someone toppled the statue. Regardless of if your artist is Pro- or Against- Trump, a golden statue of Trump in a main square or in front of a bank or a ritzy shopping mall, followed by a quick leak to the press would do the trick. If you're connected to a reporter you can trust, you can leak this to them beforehand and have them prepare an article following the creation of the statue and it's clandestine erection.

Of course - I take no responsibility for the consequences of such action :-)

(Trump given as an example for something that can be used to make headlines. No political intent on my part)

What came to my mind was interior decorators ... if his art is something you can put inside your living room. Why not get a portfolio flyer together and contact firms that do house interiors. They have the clients who want to buy art.
I also like the idea of getting exposure in bars, cafes and restaurants. If the piece fits with the atmo of the place.