Is showing too much a good idea?

[shelly]

I notice a lot of artist on here has 2 shows in one month. Not even small shows but big shows.
i remember brendan monroe saying that 1 solo show a year is too much and i see many artist having 3 solos a year. He told me that more than that is just flooding the market and would jeopardize your longevity. What do you guys think?

[Bytor]

Well to tell you the truth, I don't know how they produce that much art. I paint 11 to 15 hours a day and it takes me at the very least 1 week to finish a 15"x30" and a lot of times it takes me two to three weeks.( but also note that I am always trying to push myself and learn new things) So I would wonder to myself if I was a collector how much time and energy could an artist be putting into a piece I was thinking of purchasing ( for pretty big bucks too) if they had that many shows going on in one year. A lot of artist say that they are so attached to each and every piece like it was their own child, but how can that be if they are made on a production line.

[rizza79]

There are a few artists that come to mind that definitely hindered their longevity by showing too much. Depending on how large the body of work is, I think that 2 shows in a year is stretching it. In terms of longevity and demand and valuation of work, 1 nice sized solo show is perfect, but some artists do 2 shows with the amount of work that could really be one big show. I would say that it really depends on a number of different factors with each individual and the type of work they create.

20-30 pieces/ year is pretty solid. Just my 0.02 though.

[sleepboy]

I don't think many artists have two big shows in one month. Maybe a couple group shows by coincidence. They definitely can't have too many otherwise they will saturate the market. But as a young artist, it's hard to avoid signing up for more shows as you are just trying to pay the rent. Typically as they become more successful they slow down a bit. I agree that 1-2 shows would be nice. Although it really depends on the demand as well...tricky.

There was another thread recently that you guys might want to check out if you are interested in this topic.

artchival.proboards54.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=generaldiscussion&thread=1091&page=1#10259