Galleries and self-represented artists: coexisting with the direct market

01An old phenomenon, a recent acceleration

Direct sales by artists are not a twenty-first century invention. Gustave Courbet organised his own exhibitions at the Pavilion of Realism as early as 1855. Fluxus artists sold their multiples without going through dealers. What has changed is the scale and ease of access. An artist with an Instagram account and twenty thousand followers can sell a series of paintings in a few hours, with no commission to pay, no payment delays, no negotiation over exhibition terms.

The Art Basel and UBS art market report for 2023 highlighted the growth of direct sales by artists, particularly in the segment of works priced below five thousand euros. Emerging artists, trained in art schools that now include marketing and career management courses, arrive on the market acutely aware of their ability to bypass intermediaries.

Social media have played a decisive role. Instagram, then TikTok, created channels for direct communication between artists and buyers. British artist Jade Fadojutimi built a considerable audience on Instagram before being represented by Gagosian. American artist Anna Weyant acquired massive social media visibility that preceded her joining Gagosian. These trajectories show that online visibility now often precedes gallery representation, rather than the other way around.

02What the self-represented artist cannot do alone

Direct selling offers obvious advantages for the artist: full margin, direct relationship with the buyer, total control over pricing and distribution. These advantages are real but tell only part of the story.

An artist who sells alone generally lacks access to major institutional collectors, museum acquisition committees and international exhibition curators. When Marian Goodman Gallery places a work at MoMA or the Centre Pompidou, it mobilises decades of personal relationships and institutional credibility that no artist can replicate alone, regardless of the size of their online audience.

The secondary market is another blind spot. An artist who sells directly loses control over the resale of their works. The gallery, by selecting collectors and maintaining records of works, protects the stability of the artist's market. When a work reappears at auction too quickly, it is often the gallery that steps in to negotiate its repurchase and prevent a decline in value.

Critical contextualisation is a third element that direct sales cannot replace. A curator's essay, an exhibition catalogue, a presentation at a fair within a considered curatorial framework: these elements build the artistic legitimacy that distinguishes a lasting career from a fleeting commercial success.

03Why confrontation is a dead end

Some dealers respond to the rise of direct sales with confrontation. They demand total exclusivity, forbid their artists from selling from their studios, threaten to end representation if the artist accepts commissions outside the gallery. This approach is doomed to fail.

An artist who feels imprisoned in an overly rigid exclusive relationship eventually leaves. The art world is full of examples of breakdowns caused by exclusivity clauses perceived as excessive. A gallery that tries to lock in the artist rather than convince them of the value of their partnership ultimately loses the battle.

Confrontation is all the more counterproductive because the power balance has shifted. In a market where the artist can build their own audience and sell without an intermediary, it is the gallery that must demonstrate its usefulness, not the artist that must demonstrate loyalty.

04Coexistence models that work

Galleries that thrive in this context are those that have found intelligent coexistence models with direct sales. Several configurations have proven effective.

The price-segmentation model is the most widespread. The artist retains the freedom to sell directly works below a certain threshold — drawings, prints, small formats, editions — while the gallery manages exclusively works above that threshold. This model recognises that the gallery's work is justified above all for higher-value pieces, where negotiation, placement and market management add real value.

The geographic-segmentation model assigns territories. The artist manages their local market and studio sales; the gallery manages international markets, fairs and institutions. Galerie Lelong & Co. practises this type of arrangement with some of its artists, respecting the sales channels the artist developed before their collaboration.

The full-transparency model rests on a simple agreement: the artist may sell directly provided they inform the gallery of each sale and respect the agreed price grid. This model prevents discounted sales that destabilise the market while preserving the artist's freedom.

05Redefining the gallery's value proposition

The fundamental question posed by the rise of direct sales is that of the gallery's added value. A dealer who simply hangs works on a wall and collects a commission can no longer justify their role to an artist capable of selling independently.

The gallery must become what the artist cannot be alone: a strategic career agent, an institutional negotiator, a contextual curator, a market protector. David Zwirner invests heavily in publications, institutional exhibitions and curatorial projects that build the legitimacy of its artists far beyond what direct sales could achieve. Thaddaeus Ropac organises exhibitions in dialogue with museums that anchor its artists in art history.

The dealer must also accept that their role is evolving. The twenty-first century gallery is no longer solely a sales venue: it is a cultural producer, a publisher, an agent, a financial adviser and a career strategist. This versatility is demanding, but it is what justifies the commission and makes the gallery indispensable.

06Communication as the key to coexistence

Most conflicts between galleries and self-represented artists stem from a lack of communication. An artist who secretly sells from their studio fears their dealer's reaction. A dealer who discovers undeclared sales feels betrayed. This vicious cycle can only be broken by frank, regular dialogue.

A dealer who addresses the question of direct sales proactively, from the start of the relationship, establishes a clear framework that prevents misunderstandings. The rules of the game — which sales channels, which types of works, which prices, what information is shared — must be defined together and revisited regularly.

Galleries that succeed in this coexistence are those that treat their artists as partners rather than suppliers. An artist who understands why the price grid must be respected, why certain works must go through the gallery, and how the market strategy protects their long-term interests has no reason to circumvent the system.

07A richer market, not a diminished one

Coexistence between galleries and direct sales is not a zero-sum game. An artist who sells limited editions at accessible prices from their website attracts buyers who may become collectors of their more ambitious works presented in the gallery. A gallery that accepts this dynamic broadens its pool of potential collectors.

The art market has always been a complex ecosystem in which different economic models coexist. The gallery, the fair, the auction house, the private dealer, the studio sale: these channels have always complemented rather than competed with one another. Direct sales by artists are an additional channel that enriches the ecosystem.

For Artedusa partner galleries, the platform offers a space where the gallery's visibility and the artist's reinforce each other, in a model that values the dealer's role while providing collectors with the transparency and accessibility they now expect from the art market.