No Service

Compound Editions, Jennifer Dalton and William Powhida, Our Condolences, Vol. 1, 2008

I recently spent another day wandering the galleries of Chelsea and came across one gallery whose behavior was remarkable. Actually, I can't blame the gallery, just the person who hired the person sitting behind the desk at the gallery. I popped into this gallery to see a show by an artist whom I have collected pretty heavily. When we approached the desk to inquire about prices and whatnot we told the young lady seated there that we were big fans and collectors of the artist's work. She replied with silence. So we picked up a catalog sitting on the desk and pointed out to her works in the catalog we own. She nodded and said, "Yeah, he's a great artist." That was the end of the conversation. She went back to doing whatever she was doing before we interrupted her. 

In these times it is truly hard to believe that a retail business can survive with this "only if I have to" attitude. Time will tell, I suppose.

NB: The above image has ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with the gallery I am referring to in this post. Jennifer and William's edition can be found between Winkleman Gallery and Schroeder Romero Gallery - two of my favorites and the very best behaved galleries out there.

Comments

[Account Deleted]

I have that experience in way too many galleries. Makes you wonder if are they fronts for money laundering operations or if they just NEVER make sales to walk ins. If the latter is the case, why have the gallery at all?

[Lisa Schroeder]

Paige

Glad to see you back on the blog. I find it incredible that people act that way at anytime let alone during the current climate. As a dealer I encounter it as well and it drives me crazy. Thanks for the shout out! Know you are always welcome in our gallery.

xoxo
Lisa

Nice to see you blogging again! I agree about the gallery sitters. A collector, ready to buy, can walk in at any time.