Right now, the gallery is looking for a few new members. The only thing that we won t consider is craft such as jewelry and ceramics, he said. We first and foremost look at the quality of the work. We ask potential members to submit slides and supportive materials as well as four original works. When we review the work of applicants, there must be a quorum present, and if the artist receives a majority of votes, they are asked to join.
Artists have a variety of reasons for joining a cooperative gallery.
That actually happened to me. I was told the painting would not sell with that color combination. William Chaiken , a painter from Hillburn, N.Y. says that being part of a cooperative gives him the time to spend on his work that he used to spend trekking from gallery to gallery. I ve had many shows in commercials galleries in the city, and they don t like to give out your home address, he said. Here, we promote the artist as an individual.