How to Discern Sophisticated Art Galleries From Brand X

In a recent article in the New York Times, an art critic was discussing whether the Martin Scorsese film “Life Lessons”--about a middle-aged painter and his girlfriend-cum-studio assistant--seemed true to real art world life. The critic decided that the film was quite accurate, but a few details bothered her. One was the size and bulk of the letters that spelled out the artist’s name on the wall of the gallery where he had his retrospective show.

“They’re big and they’re in relief,” she wrote, “and in an art world where the sleekness of press-type or painted lettering is de rigueur , they signal a less than first-rate gallery, as does the aggressively unsleek, barnlike space of the gallery itself.”

Such are the seemingly nit-picking things that take on intense meaning in the frankly snobbish and ultra style-conscious world of contemporary art. So if some of the following tips for spotting a first-rate art gallery--as opposed to the more populist variety--seem odd, bear in mind that this is truly a world unto itself.

* The salespeople allow you to browse on your own. They may ask if you have any questions but they don’t shake your hand, ask you how you are and to try to sell you something.

* Prices generally are not posted next to the work. They are either on information sheets available at the front desk, or you are obliged to inquire about them.

* The works are hung or placed at reasonably spacious intervals (not stacked on top of each other) in a well-lighted, open space, generally with walls painted white or left bare.

* If the artists the gallery represents are established, they are likely to have been reviewed in the three major U.S. art magazines: Art in America, ArtNews and Artforum, or in California-based Artweek, Visions, Art Coast or Art Issues magazines. Ask the gallery for copies of reviews.

* The gallery’s press materials may include mention of museums in which the artist’s work may be found but never of celebrities who own the work. Artists are not referred to as “world-famous” (if they are , it is assumed you will have heard of them).

* Gallery staff does not use the phrase “original oils” or “original acrylics”--all paintings are presumed to be one of a kind and original. Rarely will gallery staff mention how much time an artist spent making a work or how costly the materials are that the artist uses. In art world terms, those are not valid ways of measuring the inherent value of a work.

* The gallery does not sell T-shirts or posters (unless they are rare or vintage works, or were made especially for a gallery exhibit).

* If the gallery sells sculpture by well-known deceased artists, it will deal only in works made during the artist’s lifetime or authorized by the artist’s heirs or executors to be made from the artist’s original models.

Some galleries sell sculpture cast in materials other than those the artist intended, or so-called “surmoulages,” sculptures cast from a mold made from the original piece. They are smaller and have less surface detail than casts made from the artist’s original wax, plaster or terra-cotta model. They also are worth a good deal less on the market. Never be swayed by the “endorsements” of non-art world celebrities who market sculpture reproductions. (See “Sculpture: Cases of Abuse” in ArtNews magazine, February, 1989.)

* If the gallery sells prints, it should not try to snow you with talk of “limited editions”--talk that often turns out to be meaningless because the editions are so large. Instead, a good gallery will have staff able to coach you in the differences between print media (lithographs, etchings, monoprints and so forth) and the names of the reputable print shops that produce well-regarded contemporary work.

* The gallery should be listed in a reputable newspaper that permits free listings only after the art reviewing staff has visited the premises. (At the Los Angeles Times, the group of galleries that are regularly reviewed--on Fridays--is even smaller.)

Listings that are paid for by the galleries can be found in Artweek magazine (where the editor decides which ones to accept) and ArtScene, a free guide that can be picked up at the galleries (which lists only those galleries that sell original works of art, no poster shops). ArtScene’s competitor, Art Now Gallery Guide, permits any gallery to purchase a listing.

But beware! Some galleries that don’t meet the criteria listed here take out display ads in these publications, and in major American art magazines as well. A gallery is not validated just because it advertises in a well-regarded publication.