How many works do you need to start a gallery: the initial inventory

01The logic of inventory in an art gallery

An art gallery is not a shoe shop. You cannot order a hundred copies of a popular model and restock in three days. Each work is unique, each artist produces at their own pace, and the turnover time for a piece can range from a few days to several years. This reality demands a very different approach from standard stock management.

A gallery's inventory serves three distinct functions. The first is the exhibition function: you need works to hang on your walls, to mount your exhibitions, to show visitors what your gallery offers. An empty or half-filled space will inspire confidence in no one. The second is the reserve function: collectors interested in an artist often want to see works beyond those on display, to compare formats, periods and techniques. Having a reserve allows you to offer choice and to personalise your proposal according to each collector's taste and budget. The third is the investment function: works you hold in stock are an asset whose value can evolve with the artist's market standing. If you have purchased outright works by an artist whose recognition grows, the capital gain can be significant.

02Consignment or outright purchase: two models to combine

Consignment is the dominant model in the contemporary art market. The artist entrusts works to the gallery, which presents and sells them, then shares the sale proceeds according to an agreed percentage. The most common split is 50/50, but proportions vary according to the artist's reputation, the gallery's level of investment and local custom. Some highly sought-after artists negotiate a 60/40 split in their favour. Others, early in their careers, accept a 40/60 split favouring the gallery that takes the risk of championing them. Consignment has a major advantage for the young gallerist: it requires no initial cash outlay to build inventory. You do not need to purchase works before selling them.

Outright purchase is the second model. You buy the work from the artist at an agreed price and resell it at your own price. The entire margin is yours. This model is riskier since you commit your capital, but it has important advantages. First, it gives you greater negotiating power with the artist and complete freedom over the resale price and commercial strategy. Second, it demonstrates your commitment to the artist and their work, strengthening the relationship of trust and potentially encouraging the artist to reserve their best pieces for you. Third, works purchased outright belong to you: you can keep them as long as you wish and offer them at the most opportune moment.

In practice, most galleries combine both models. You work on consignment for the majority of your artists and purchase outright a few pieces by artists whose potential you are particularly convinced of, or works you wish to keep in reserve to offer at the right moment to the right collector. This combination allows you to maintain a diverse inventory without tying up all your capital.

03How many artists at launch

The temptation is to represent many artists to offer a wide selection. This is a frequent mistake among young gallerists. A gallery that announces it represents twenty artists has neither the time, the resources nor the credibility to seriously champion each one. Collectors and art world professionals perceive this immediately and interpret such dispersion as a lack of curatorial direction.

A reasonable number for a launch lies between five and eight artists. This number allows you to programme a year of solo exhibitions (alternating your artists with one or two group shows), to know each artist's work in depth, and to devote to each the energy needed to champion them with collectors, journalists and institutional figures.

Galerie Marcelle Alix in Paris started with a small roster and built its reputation on the quality of its support rather than quantity. Galerie Crevecoeur, also in Paris, followed a similar approach by focusing on a tight programme of emerging artists championed with conviction. These galleries began with tight programmes and expanded gradually as their networks and turnover allowed them to support more careers.

You can invite other artists on a case-by-case basis for group exhibitions or curatorial projects, without formally representing them. This flexibility allows you to explore new directions without committing to a representation you cannot honour.

04How many works per artist

For each artist represented, you need a minimum of available works. The number depends on medium and format. For a painter or photographer, count between eight and fifteen works for a solo exhibition, plus three to five pieces in reserve. For a sculptor or an artist working in large formats, the number can drop to five or six pieces for an exhibition, depending on the dimensions of your space.

If you represent six artists with an average of ten available works per artist, your starting inventory is around sixty works. This figure may seem high, but on consignment it does not represent a direct financial investment. What matters is storage space, insurance and logistics. On an outright purchase basis, sixty works would represent a considerable investment: this is why the majority of starting inventory is on consignment.

The reserve is as important as the exhibition. A collector who visits your gallery and is moved by an artist's work will often want to see additional pieces. Being able to bring out three or four extra works from your reserve transforms a curious visit into a sales conversation. Galerie Kamel Mennour long operated with a modest exhibition space but a very well-stocked reserve, which allowed it to tailor its offering to each collector according to their tastes, spaces and budget.

05The contract with the artist: formalise from the start

The relationship between a gallerist and an artist rests on trust, but trust does not preclude a contract. On the contrary, a clear contract protects both parties and prevents the misunderstandings that poison so many relationships in the art world. Stories of missing works, undeclared sales or disputed percentages are unfortunately common, and a written contract prevents them.

The consignment contract should specify at minimum the following elements: the list of works entrusted with their description and value, the duration of consignment, the percentage split in case of sale, the conditions for returning unsold works, liability in case of damage or theft, and any exclusivity terms. A good contract also provides for payment terms to the artist after a sale: the standard period is 30 to 60 days, but some artists need to be paid more quickly.

Exclusivity is a delicate subject. Requesting worldwide exclusivity from an artist you have just met is premature and risks driving them away. However, geographic exclusivity (for France or for Europe, for example) is reasonable if you commit in return to a defined number of exhibitions and promotional investment. Galerie Perrotin's representation contract, for example, is known for its clarity and its balance between the gallery's commitments and the artist's.

06Storage and insurance

Works of art are fragile, bulky and valuable. Your storage space must be clean, dry, at stable temperature and humidity, and protected against theft and fire. If your gallery does not have sufficient reserve space, professional art storage solutions exist: standard self-storage units are not suitable as they offer neither the climate control nor the handling conditions that artworks require.

Insurance is essential from the first work received on consignment. Your policy must cover works in the gallery, in reserve and in transit. Standard commercial policies do not adequately cover works of art. You need specialist insurance, known as "nail to nail" (from the artist's studio to the gallery, and from the gallery to the collector's home). Specialist brokers such as Hiscox, AXA Art and Blackwall Green understand the market's specificities and offer policies adapted to the size of your stock.

Insurance costs generally represent between one and two per cent of the total stock value per year. This item must be factored into your budget from the outset. If your stock is valued at 100,000 euros in selling price, expect an annual premium of between 1,000 and 2,000 euros. This cost is an indispensable investment: a damaged or stolen work without insurance can ruin your relationship with an artist and jeopardise your cash flow.

07Evolving the inventory over time

Your initial inventory is not fixed. It evolves with sales, new production from your artists and your curatorial choices. Works that find no buyer after two years of exhibition and repeated proposals to collectors should be returned to the artist or stored for re-presentation later in a different context. Keeping unsold works indefinitely clutters your reserve and ties up insurance value for nothing.

The goal is to maintain a living inventory, composed of recent works and reference pieces that allow you to retrace each artist's journey. An inventory that does not renew itself gives the impression of a stagnating gallery. Conversely, an inventory that turns over well signals a dynamic gallery and a gallerist who knows their collectors.

On Artedusa, each work in your inventory can be presented to a collector audience that may never push open the door of your physical gallery. This dual exposure, physical and digital, accelerates inventory turnover and allows you to maintain an active and attractive catalogue that works for you around the clock.