Presenting a Portfolio to a Gallery

[logan2z]

Best of luck with your presentation.

Thanks, much appreciated..

 

[jeffreyg]

I think your presentation format is very good. But I can add some comments that may be helpful if you have not already taken them into consideration. Since I don’t know your relationship with the gallery they may be or not of value.

The gallery is a business with expenses and looking to make a profit. Some gallery owners are not so kindly to artists. Research if possible what they generally market to their clients and the price range of what they cater to as well as the photographers they represent so that you can present work that fits in.

The idea of an “assistant “ may not be far off. If you know another artist or art critic or perhaps a respected teacher to write a bio or critique to accompany your presentation it can be helpful.

Just a couple of thoughts. Best of luck.

 

[Vaughn]

I would agree with Bob that a well presented professional resume should be prepared. other things I have heard gallery owners suggest...

Gloves in the portfolio box if you must, but the owner should have them and it might suggest you might be a fussy person to work with. Do not suggest or hand the gloves to the owner.

Prints in a portfolio box. Matted prints (ready for the owner to mentally frame), but none in plastic.

Selection and sequencing important.

 

[Pieter12]

I would agree with Bob that a well presented professional resume should be prepared. other things I have heard gallery owners suggest...

Gloves in the portfolio box if you must, but the owner should have them and it might suggest you might be a fussy person to work with. Do not suggest or hand the gloves to the owner.

Prints in a portfolio box. Matted prints (ready for the owner to mentally frame), but none in plastic.

Selection and sequencing important.

I would suggest that instead of a CV (unless it is pertinent to the work) you prepare a list of exhibitions, competitions and any publications where your work has been featured, as well as any books or reviews. Plus if your work is in any collections, private or public…gallery owners really like it if an artist come with a ready-made following. If you have a fine arts education that should be included as well.

 

[Citsmith]

No plastic sleeves. Matted prints in a clamshell portfolio box. You can even include cotton gloves.

View attachment 371893

Are you or anyone using a hinged mat with a backer board or are these just taped in the window on the back?

 

[Pieter12]

Are you or anyone using a hinged mat with a backer board or are these just taped in the window on the back?

No, no, no. The photo is either hinged to the backing board with archival tape or dry-mounted to the backing board. In either case, the window mat is hinged to the backing board.

 

[Vaughn]

Are you or anyone using a hinged mat with a backer board or are these just taped in the window on the back?

I have been cutting my own mats and such for 40 years, but recently have been buy custom cut 8-ply from FrameDesination. Full sheets (32"x40") seem just as expensive as pre-cut with shipping and the chances of damage to the big board. I use 8-ply as much as possible, but that would normally be over-kill for a portfolio.

But a professional presentation of one's work is important. If the work will be matted in a show, then quality materials, well-cut mat corners, the hinge taping, how the print is attached to the backing board, and how it all interacts with the image is important.

So a quality backing board would be required at the level the OP is working with.

 

[MTGseattle]

@GregY I agree. I give up doing it myself at sizes larger than 20x24

 

[Richard Man]

You can buy pre-cut via laser mats. They look great.

 

[GregY]

I have been cutting my own mats and such for 40 years, but recently have been buy custom cut 8-ply from FrameDesination. Full sheets (32"x40") seem just as expensive as pre-cut with shipping and the chances of damage to the big board. I use 8-ply as much as possible, but that would normally be over-kill for a portfolio.

But a professional presentation of one's work is important. If the work will be matted in a show, then quality materials, well-cut mat corners, the hinge taping, how the print is attached to the backing board, and how it all interacts with the image is important.

So a quality backing board would be required at the level the OP is working with.

Vaughn, I agree with you on the cost of 32"x40" boards. I have to drive to the city to pick mine up (essentially half a day. But i tried buying 11x14" and 16x20" stacks of matt board from B&H ....& predictably in two orders all arrived damaged beyond use due to poor packaging.

 

[GregY]

You can buy pre-cut via laser mats. They look great.

I'm sure they do, but if you already have a $1k+ matt cutter and large drymount press... seems like going backwards.

 

[Vaughn]

Vaughn, I agree with you on the cost of 32"x40" boards. I have to drive to the city to pick mine up (essentially half a day. But i tried buying 11x14" and 16x20" stacks of matt board from B&H ....& predictably in two orders all arrived damaged beyond use due to poor packaging.

That is one thing with Frame Destination...great packaging. I had an order of frames tossed over my 6' fence (two boxes) by the Fed-X guy...no damage.

 

[GregY]

That is one thing with Frame Destination...great packaging. I had an order of frames tossed over my 6' fence (two boxes) by the Fed-X guy...no damage.

I wish B&H did a better job.... but the shipping from Texas to Western Canada would kill any advantage. I'm back to buying 32x40" in Calgary.

 

[Don_ih]

I wish B&H did a better job

I ordered 16x20 mat board from b&h. It arrived loose in a bigger box and the corner was buckled on the pack of board. I complained. They sent another pack - packed exactly the same way - had exactly the same damage. I complained. They sent another one, still packed the same way, but without damage.

In other words, I have a lot of beat up mat board.

 

[Pieter12]

I buy 16x20 cut mats and backing boards from Matboard Plus out of New Mexico. The boards are always very well packed (I even keep the boxes to ship framed prints in), and shipping is quite reasonable.

 

[Carnie Bob]

For any exhibiting artist a Matt Cutter is a very good thing to have, also if you are starting out most galleries in my area will want the frames to be of excellent quality , so the first question I have
to any artist is what does your final presentation look like. In my case I have settled on cherrywood frames in basically two sizes and I have invested in over 25 of each size so I can mix and match if
required depending on the size of the gallery presentation. I like wood frames that can be sanded and oiled time after time to keep them fresh and for each one I like to use AR glass and have a screw in
restrainer in the back for easy in and out at a show or city I am working in. I also like cherrywood as it ages well and darkens lovely. By having a reusable set of frames and a matt cutter I find I save thousands of dollars each time I exhibit.
The first 10 yeas of exhibiting is painful for a young artist financially and emotionally , the more prepared you are for the business side of exhibiting the better you will do. Shipping is also a critical problem if you are going
to exhibit internationally and one should get a handle on that part of the show experience.

 

[Pieter12]

For any exhibiting artist a Matt Cutter is a very good thing to have, also if you are starting out most galleries in my area will want the frames to be of excellent quality , so the first question I have
to any artist is what does your final presentation look like. In my case I have settled on cherrywood frames in basically two sizes and I have invested in over 25 of each size so I can mix and match if
required depending on the size of the gallery presentation. I like wood frames that can be sanded and oiled time after time to keep them fresh and for each one I like to use AR glass and have a screw in
restrainer in the back for easy in and out at a show or city I am working in. I also like cherrywood as it ages well and darkens lovely. By having a reusable set of frames and a matt cutter I find I save thousands of dollars each time I exhibit.
The first 10 yeas of exhibiting is painful for a young artist financially and emotionally , the more prepared you are for the business side of exhibiting the better you will do. Shipping is also a critical problem if you are going
to exhibit internationally and one should get a handle on that part of the show experience.

A gallerist I know who stages exhibitions at art fairs internationally does quite the opposite. In his experience, collectors prefer to reframe artwork to suit their decor and taste, so he ships all the art matted and buys cheap IKEA frames at the destination.

 

[Ian Grant]

Planning an Exhibition

This is from experience.

Year 1
Visited a location in the industrial Black Country, in the UK with a friend. I made a decision there & then to spend 5 years photographing in the area, and to exhibit the work.

Year 2/3
It was suggested I approach the Curator of an Art Gallery, I was given the name and contact details, by the local arts funded photography co-ordinator, who knew my work.

Because it was still work in progress I took a good edited selection of what I already had, and also hand made books of two previous exhibitions. I had two portfolio cases, one with the current work, and the second with past exhibitions & projects.

The result was the Gallery booked my exhibition for Year 5, and were going to commission additional work (film or video) for a small side gallery. It is typical for good art galleries to book work 2 to 3 years in advance.The Curator was head-hunted for a top NE English gallery, so the additional work was forgotten.

Year 4
Applications to gain Arts funding to help cover costs, also sponsorship from suppliers. I was awarded an Arts Council grant towards production costs, and Leeds Cameras (a UK professional chain) gave me paper at trade (what they paid).

All the while I was collating and editing, and filling in with new images, to strengthen the project.

Year 5
With funding in place, and the dates looming, I made a decision on frames, they were bespoke. I had the profile specially cut, actually this was not expensive.

The month before hanging the Exhibition, this was final editing and sequencing, all the prints were matted, I’d pretty much finished. Then a week before a friend came to help, we laid out the sequence on my lawn. There was something not quite working, she suggested changes, I thought of others, but we quickly had it right. It meant re-printing two images so they fitted tonally into the new sequence.

That’s forgetting you need to prepare publicity, months in advance, press releases to photo magazines for their listings, with images, then local press coverage for the opening. And then Invites to the opening.

 

[Pieter12]

Planning an Exhibition

This is from experience.

Year 1
Visited a location in the industrial Black Country, in the UK with a friend. I made a decision there & then to spend 5 years photographing in the area, and to exhibit the work.

Year 2/3
It was suggested I approach the Curator of an Art Gallery, I was given the name and contact details, by the local arts funded photography co-ordinator, who knew my work.

Because it was still work in progress I took a good edited selection of what I already had, and also hand made books of two previous exhibitions. I had two portfolio cases, one with the current work, and the second with past exhibitions & projects.

The result was the Gallery booked my exhibition for Year 5, and were going to commission additional work (film or video) for a small side gallery. It is typical for good art galleries to book work 2 to 3 years in advance.The Curator was head-hunted for a top NE English gallery, so the additional work was forgotten.

Year 4
Applications to gain Arts funding to help cover costs, also sponsorship from suppliers. I was awarded an Arts Council grant towards production costs, and Leeds Cameras (a UK professional chain) gave me paper at trade (what they paid).

All the while I was collating and editing, and filling in with new images, to strengthen the project.

Year 5
With funding in place, and the dates looming, I made a decision on frames, they were bespoke. I had the profile specially cut, actually this was not expensive.

The month before hanging the Exhibition, this was final editing and sequencing, all the prints were matted, I’d pretty much finished. Then a week before a friend came to help, we laid out the sequence on my lawn. There was something not quite working, she suggested changes, I thought of others, but we quickly had it right. It meant re-printing two images so they fitted tonally into the new sequence.

That’s forgetting you need to prepare publicity, months in advance, press releases to photo magazines for their listings, with images, then local press coverage for the opening. And then Invites to the opening.

+++

 

[GregY]

I ordered 16x20 mat board from b&h. It arrived loose in a bigger box and the corner was buckled on the pack of board. I complained. They sent another pack - packed exactly the same way - had exactly the same damage. I complained. They sent another one, still packed the same way, but without damage.

In other words, I have a lot of beat up mat board.

We must be cousins Don.... My experience exactly....even after an email to Henry Posner @B&H....

 

[Ian Grant]

+++

I should add this was a large exhibition, 64 prints, most were in 20"x16" frames, 4 were larger 24"x30".

The killer is the framing costs, I have 3 sets of frames. The first from early exhibitions, 30+. Then the set mentioned here, it was over 80, but I've sold some with prints.

Now I'm building up a third set, a few at a time, so not a sudden financial dent

Ian

 

[cliveh]

How about taking a stack of prints in a Tesco carrier bag? One of the best photographic exhibitions I have ever seen was one of Weegee's prints in Oxford, where the prints were pinned to the wall with drawing pins. If you have good images, they shouldn't need fancy presentation. They will speak for themselves.

 

[Don_ih]

If you have good images, they shouldn't need fancy presentation. They will speak for themselves.

That's a nice idea, but presentation counts toward getting someone to look at your photos in the first place. So the prints may speak for themselves but no one is listening. Also, unframed prints pinned to the wall don't inspire buyers, unless they're looking for something to tape to their locker.

 

[Vaughn]

I was working in San Diego when the Museum of Photographic Arts open in 1983 or so. Before they finished the interior walls, they had a push-pin party to open the space to the public for the first time. Anyone who showed up could pin up their prints as they wanted. Very cool...I had up several 16x20s of the redwoods.

I have been cutting my own mats, mostly a hand-held cutter (Dexter, then Logan) and a straight edge, since the 70s. I had signs in the university Art Dept, "Will cut mats for beer". A 4-pack of Guiness would cover most big jobs. The professors usually paid cash.

 

[Pieter12]

How about taking a stack of prints in a Tesco carrier bag? One of the best photographic exhibitions I have ever seen was one of Weegee's prints in Oxford, where the prints were pinned to the wall with drawing pins. If you have good images, they shouldn't need fancy presentation. They will speak for themselves.

IMO, that's pretty much how WeeGee's work should be shown. I have been to shows with prints attached to metal walls with magnets. Or matted prints pinned to the wall with T-pins. Neither looks as goods a plain black or white gallery frame on a flat-colored wall, with no or minimal reflections.

On the other hand, presentation communicates a lot to a prospective gallery or curator how much you value your work. Prints in a shopping bag makes a statement. Is that the one you want to make? Why not leave the prints unspotted, maybe a few developer stains and dog-eared corners while we're at it.