The Role of the Art Gallery: Balancing Artist Valorisation and Economic Challenges

The History of the Art Gallery: From Intermediary to Essential Player

Art galleries originated in the Renaissance when a social distinction emerged between artists and artisans. During this period, the wealthy elite sought to enhance their personal collections, and the first art dealers began acting as intermediaries.
With the rise of avant-garde movements in the 19th century, the gallery became a central space for promoting artists who broke with academic traditions. In the 20th century, the artist-gallery relationship was formalised through professional and/or exclusive contracts: the gallerist supported and presented the artist in exchange for a commission on sales and priority rights to their works.

From the 1960s onwards, with globalisation, galleries expanded beyond local markets. They began participating in international fairs, opening branches in various countries, exchanging artworks, hosting regular exhibitions, and growing into influential players in the art market.
This market structure is more recent in contemporary jewellery but follows a similar path. Since the 1970s, contemporary jewellery galleries have operated similarly to those in contemporary art while preserving an exclusive dimension and intimate approach, as jewellery remains closely tied to personal experience. 

Giovanni Paolo Panini (1740). The Gallery of Cardinal Silvio Valenti-Gonzaga in Rome.


The Gallery: Beyond a 'Look, don’t touch' space

The art market, driven by ideals of creativity and expression, also operates as a structured economic system with defined roles: the artist creates, the critic analyses, the collector acquires, and at the heart of these interactions is the gallery.

More than just a space for sales, it connects artwork to its audience, facilitating discovery and interpretation. While sales are essential for the gallery’s sustainability, because unlike museums or foundations, they not receive public funding, its role extends beyond commerce. Once an artwork is created, the gallery is responsible for promoting and presenting it to potential collectors and art enthusiasts, positioning the artist within both the artistic and commercial worlds. While critics, curators, and institutions contribute significantly, the gallery remains the primary venue where these individuals, artists, and the audience come together, acting as the first physical point of interaction between the artwork and society.

In theory, the artist delegates the responsibility of promoting and selling their work to the gallery, which also helps manage pricing, promotion, and networking, all while striving to balance artistic vision with profitability.

Galerie Marzee Graduate Show display 2019.


The Role of the Gallerist

The gallerist wears many hats. As a curator, they select the artists with whom they want to collaborate to build a strong identity and an artistic guideline for their gallery. As an agent, they support the artist in their career, helping to manage production, image, and communication. As a strategist and entrepreneur, they must ensure the sustainability of their space, sell, and persuade, all while remaining true to a consistent artistic direction, with a visionary eye that takes the risk of believing in the warm reception of an artistic universe. But above all, they are storytellers: they interpret, narrate, and highlight the artworks to present them to society and, consequently, to collectors. A skilled art personal shopper, capable of finding the piece that, in their view, holds the long-awaited potential.

In contemporary jewellery, the market is more limited than in contemporary art. There are fewer collectors and potential buyers, which makes managing the clientele more exclusive and confidential. Art jewellery retains an intimate dimension, bought through a personal connection with the object, driven by desire and attachment to a creative universe, rather than as a means of generating profit.

Instagram story of Tinsel Gallery setting up their stand for Frame 2025 at the Internationale Handwerksmesse Munich.


The Future of Galleries: Navigating New Horizons

For the past few decades, the traditional gallery model, once located on a prominent street corner where the seasoned collector and the casual visitor could cross paths, has evolved with the rise of art fairs and online platforms for showcasing and selling art. The physical gallery no longer holds the obligatory status it once did. Today, many buyers prefer to discover a wide selection of works in one place. Art fairs, where the buying process is more immediate and less ritualistic, have become essential venues for both clients and professionals. On one hand, this opens the market, making it more accessible and often offering a greater return on investment. On the other hand, it adds new responsibilities to the role of the gallery owner, who must adapt by either moving with their collection or shifting it online, and reinventing themselves to continue serving as storytellers and mediators, rather than just sellers.

Visitors at Gallery O Korea's stand at Frame 2024, Internationale Handwerksmesse Munich​.


The Collector: An Essential Link in the Art Market

The collector sustains the art ecosystem through their acquisitions. They invest, interact with other enthusiasts, and directly influence the value of the art piece. Without the collector, the artist could not continue creating and living from their work and sustaining their practice would be uncertain. 

The relationship between the collector and the gallerist is fundamentally based on one key element: TRUST. A buyer must be able to rely on the gallery owner before investing in a piece.
This trust is built on several aspects:
- Expertise and personalised guidance, where the gallery owner directs the buyer according to their own vision, but also in line with the buyer's expectations.
- Transparency in the management of artworks and prices, which strengthens the market's credibility.

However, poor communication between the different galleries and the artists can undermine this trust and harm the market as a whole. A healthy market depends on clear communication and a network where each participant adheres to the rules, just like any other professional relationship. Of course, these rules may (and need to) evolve, but it is crucial to inform other similar actors when changes occur.

Opening of A Tale of Multiple Worlds: Synthesis Possibilities on Colours and Preciousness at Hannah Gallery, 2024


While the art gallery remains essential to the market, its role has been shaped over time. With globalisation and changing buying habits, galleries must adapt to continue acting as intermediaries between artists and the public. In the realm of contemporary jewellery, this shift raises more questions. Despite being a more niche market, intimate acquisition remains at the core of transactions, making it more resilient to purely financial motivations. However, it still relies on a broader economic system where financial considerations help valorise the field and reach new audiences, functioning in interdependence with other essential players.

However, galleries are essential in art or jewellery, not just for sales but for creating meaning and connecting creation with its audience. Sure, there are many questions, and we still don’t have all the answers (a bit of speculation about the future), but these questions should encourage every gallery to constantly rethink its concept and shape what’s to come. Is the primary role of the gallery to be the first direct intermediary in presenting the art piece to the world? A world governed mainly by a digital environment flooded with unfiltered information. How can they adapt to new consumer habits by offering fresh advisory and exclusive sales experiences? The future of galleries is constantly evolving, and their role will continue to shape the art world for years to come.



Sources: 
- Díaz Amunárriz C. (2017). La gestión de las galerías de arte. Agencia Española de Cooperación Internacional para el Desarrollo. 
- Berger J. (1972). Ways of Seeing. Penguin. 
- Petit P. (2021): Brève histoire des galeries d'art, entre la boutique et le musée. France Culture. https://www.radiofrance.fr/franceculture/breve-histoire-des-galeries-d-art-entre-la-boutique-et-le-musee-3082971
- Chaverou É. (2024). Galeries d'art : Paris se renouvelle avec des lieux comme 'Artivistas'. France Culture.https://www.radiofrance.fr/franceculture/podcasts/l-info-culturelle-reportages-enquetes-analyses/galeries-d-art-paris-se-renouvelle-avec-des-lieux-comme-artivistas-1664056
- Klimt02. (2024). Perspectives from Gallerists. Interview with Kinga Zobel from Galerie Biró. Klimt02. https://klimt02.net/forum/interviews/perspectives-gallerists-interview-kinga-zobel-galerie-biro-klimt02-cecile-maes
- Klimt02. (2024). Perspectives from Gallerists. Interview with Noel Guyomarc'h from Galerie Noel Guyomarc'h. Klimt02. https://klimt02.net/forum/interviews/perspectives-gallerists-interview-noel-guyomarc-h-galerie-noel-guyomarch-klimt02-cecile-maes
- Klimt02. (2024). Perspectives from Gallerists. Interview with Vanja Bazdulj from House on Mars. Klimt02. https://klimt02.net/forum/interviews/perspectives-gallerists-interview-vanja-bazdulj-house-mars-klimt02-cecile-maes
- Denter C. (2019). Every Activity Takes Jewellery Out Into the World and Brings New People Into the Gallery. Interview with Marie-José van den Hout from Galerie Marzee. Klimt02. https://klimt02.net/forum/interviews/every-activity-takes-jewelery-out-world-and-brings-new-people-gallery-interview-marie-jose-van-den-hout-galerie-marzee-carolin-denter
- Denter C. (2020). We buy with our Heart and Feelings. About Collecting. Interview with Jeldrik Oorthuys. Klimt02. https://klimt02.net/forum/interviews/about-collecting-interview-jeldrik-oorthuys-carolin-denter