Over the years I have made 100’s of submissions and like you I have had gallery rejections way too many times. This isn’t an article about how to handle rejection. We all know that we just pick ourselves up and dust ourselves off and try and try again.
This is a list of my all time favorite rejection letters, emails. Here goes…
“We are not accepting any submissions right now because we have too many artist.
Good Luck,”
If they have “too many artists” would this not be a disservice to their gallery artists. Okay; moving on…
“I wish I had the space, you would not believe how jammed up my backroom is!
We damaged two pieces this morning just trying to move things around… : (“
Good to know how you handle the work in your care…moving on.
“Are you doing a new series of encaustic work for the summer in a brighter palette?”
Not the right question (see my post Paint, sculpt, print what you want)
“Thank you for the update, but yours is not the work for me. Best of luck to you.”
Straight and to the point.
“Please remove us from your mailing list. Many thanks.”
Okay then…
One of my favorites:
“Thank you for your submission but upon review we feel your work does not fit with the curatorial vision of the gallery as we are looking for landscape artists.”
I submitted my encaustic landscapes.
My all time favorite:
“Thank you for contact. We love your work and hope to further talk with you on your preferences for an exhibit in our space.”
“We would be interested in knowing if you are comfortable with showing single pieces or if you favor the all story with the all number in the series. Either way we would set dates with you for exhibiting in the coming year !”
“If this is conciliatory with your vision let us know and would be rather exciting if you were to send an example of your work for our tactile appreciation of it.”
I know it reads as an acceptance but here’s what happen:
I was thrilled that I received such a quick response, like the next day and in response to my email requesting their submission guidelines. It wasn’t a formal submission, but I do send all my emails with a link to my website in the signature. So I thought that they clicked through to my website and voila. Also I know that one of the gallery artists recommended me so I thought perhaps they prescreened me.
I decided rather than email back and forth that I would start the relationship off on the right foot and phone the gallery to talk in person. Which I did but was put through to voicemail. So I left a message thanking them and asking for a call back to discuss which series and which piece they would like me to send.
Nothing – no response.
So I sent an email, still no response.
Well anything could have happened. Maybe they went on vacation the very next day. Maybe (god forbid) someone died. I waited a week, still no response. I tried again to phone; voice mail and I left another message. Nothing.
Finally I sent one last email and to this day have never heard back. I can only guess about what happened and it is my guess is that they sent the email to the wrong artist and didn’t have the courage to fix or admit the error. Obviously I will never submit to this gallery again.
Moving on…
Do you have a favorite rejection letter you would like to share?
At least these galleries had the courtesy to reply. I mailed a copy of my self-published book as well as a letter of introduction/application and the gallery owners didn’t reply at all. Did they keep the book, or did they recieve it? I have no idea. That was a waste of $85.00 plus shipping. The gallery that did accept me was so professional, and they still are.
Hi Lorna
I would phone and request the return of your materials. Did you provide SASE?
It once took almost 2 years for me to get a reply from a gallery. I get it, their busy and inundated with submissions, but 2 years! Good thing, thick skin.
I received a form rejection email which stated that I was rejected & that they were looking for artists with high technical ability as well as creativity…
The combination of getting a form email, plus the awkward wording that implied (not on purpose I’m sure), that my ability or creativity was in question, led me to fire off one of the most scathing emails I have ever sent…
To be honest, I knew this was a small-minded society, having browsed through the work of some of the board members, but I had applied anyway because they had recently gotten a heritage house near the beaches, & I liked the aesthetics of the location…
So it was probably all for the best, & soon after I hooked up with some wonderful people who had an even nicer view…
In most cases I think we end up where we are meant to be and I’m glad you did. No matter how thick we think our skin is, it still can be demoralizing when someone’s choice of words are chosen so poorly.
Wow those encaustic landscapes are fabulous. The texture is very rich and the pieces are enchanting. Who ever rejected you was foolish and crazy. Your works are stunning and marketable.