If work isn’t selling does that mean it isn’t good?
Regardless of the economic climate all artists ask themselves this question from time to time after they produced a body of work they are immensely proud of only to exhibit it and have no sales.
I have had three no sale shows only to have the work later win awards or be acquired for well respected collections but the topic came up again in a blog post by Janice Mason Steeves, a Canadian artist, whose reaction to a no sale body of work was to take a year off and return refreshed to her arts practice. Her candid and inspiring account of those moments of doubt we all have got me thinking.
I am very sensitive to this topic as I have recently begun and shown a new body of work which is quite raw (or fresh) and its formative stages.
Is this the right thing to do when I am getting recognition for my shredded works?
Should I continue to make the collage works for my next exhibition when I feel the distractions of this new body of work and the need to work with new media?
I am also aware that I am not spending much time in the studio at the moment because of the excitement of the move. Where will this lead?
Acrylic and Pigmented Ink on Canvas. 76cm x 56.5cm.
I do know that for me the answer is to just do what I feel like and trust in what I make. But it does stir the butterflies.
