the price

Every artist I know deals with it; how do you set prices? If I had a tried and true formula, I would post it, write a book and go on tour. I don't. I have no idea because I simply don't have enough market feedback. I think this is one thing that is maddening to people who buy art (or want to), and it is further compounded by the erratic and often nonsensical pricing one finds in various "galleries". In fact, the term "gallery" covers everything from a ramshackle thrift market to the high-end white cubes of major cities. The term is fairly meaningless in terms of indicating the quality one might expect.

I was formerly a member of a local cooperative. They do a decent job of getting art in front of people, and exposing the population to different ideas and varying quality of work. Yet they stick a $50 acrylic landscape painting next to a $500 oil landscape painting and wonder why people scratch their heads. There is no vision, no aesthetic narrative which explains why one bucolic scene is ten times the price of another. They do the same thing to abstract work.

It's always a struggle to price work because you're putting value on something that is a one of a kind, handmade object, but is also relative to the hundreds of thousands of works out there which resemble it. At issue is not just the fact that you made it, but also how well it is made, how conscious you are of your references/influences and whether or not the work is an interesting or even relative part of the Conversation.

Who hasn't been to the local coffee house and seen student paintings for mid 4-figures? Who is this being sold to? What are the artist's prices based on? One can't blame the student artist for trying, after all the art world is insane with price structures and "value".

Most artists want a fair compensation for their time and work. Most of us will bargain, barter or trade if the deal is sweet. There is also the nature of the sale; does it afford potential exposure which could honestly result in more sales and recognition? At the same time, serious artists don't give their work away, loan it for free or pay to play. I get a call every once in a while from some restaurant or another that wants to "give [me] exposure" by hanging my work. They don't offer to buy it, nor have plans to buy it. When was the last time you went to nice restaurant, noticed the art on the walls, took the time to ask the server or manager about it (whether it is for sale, how you could contact the artist, so on), and then followed up? I would guess never.

As I have not exhibited much in the past year and holed up in my studio, I am facing no small amount of anxiety and self-consciousness about pricing right now. On the one hand, I feel the work has evolved and is much richer and better informed. On the other hand, I'm vulnerable and insecure after my hiatus.

Money is always going to be an issue; even if you're Jeff Koons, you will find that the work you want to make is going to cost more than you think. And let's face it, getting your price doesn't always mean you make good work, or even that it ends up being good for your reputation.

Tony Smith famously waited for the art world to pay his prices. It worked. If you don't cheapen yourself and your work, eventually you have a much better chance of getting what you feel is fair.