Selling without showing yourself: the introverted artist facing the market

01Introversion is not a handicap

Many major artists were or are introverts. Giorgio Morandi spent most of his life in his Bologna studio, painting the same bottles and boxes for decades without ever seeking the media spotlight. His work is today in the collections of MoMA, the Centre Pompidou, Tate Modern, and the Museo Morandi in Bologna. His discretion did not prevent his recognition: it may even have reinforced it, by creating a mystery around his work that stokes curiosity.

Agnes Martin, who retreated to New Mexico to live and work in near-total isolation, became one of the most respected figures in American painting. Her refusal of social events never prevented her galleries, notably Pace Gallery, from selling her work at prices that have steadily risen.

French artist Pierre Soulages, who passed away in 2022, was known for his reserve and his horror of social events. This did not prevent him from becoming one of the most highly valued French artists in history, with a personal museum in Rodez and works in the world's greatest collections.

02Letting the work speak

The introverted artist's primary strategy is letting the work occupy the entire space. If your work is strong enough, it will find its champions without you needing to take the stage. This means investing in quality of communication rather than quantity.

French photographer Bernard Plossu, whose work has been exhibited at the Musee d'Art Moderne de Paris, the Jeu de Paume, and dozens of international institutions, is a discreet man who prefers his images to speak on his behalf. He has never had a significant social media presence, yet his work circulates in collections worldwide.

German artist Hilla Becher, who with her husband Bernd revolutionised documentary photography with their industrial typologies, was never a public figure. Their work, shown at the Museum of Modern Art, the Centre Pompidou, and Tate Modern, speaks for itself. The Bechers let institutions, galleries, and curators do the promotional work.

03Delegating public relations

If you do not enjoy speaking about your work in public, find someone who will do it for you. This is, historically, the gallery's role. The dealer is the intermediary who speaks to collectors, presents the work, negotiates sales. For the introverted artist, a good gallery is liberating: it handles the social dimension of selling and allows you to focus on creation.

American artist Robert Ryman, whose white paintings are among the most silent in contemporary art, was represented by Pace Gallery and Galerie Yvon Lambert in Paris. These galleries ensured the distribution of his work without ever requiring a media presence he would not have wished for.

If you do not have a gallery, other forms of delegation exist. An artist friend who speaks well about your work can accompany you to openings. A well-written text by a critic or curator can replace your physical presence at an exhibition. A trusted person managing your online communication can post on your behalf, in your voice, without you being directly exposed.

04Writing as a substitute for speaking

Some introverted artists are far more comfortable writing than speaking. If this applies to you, exploit that strength. A presentation text about your work, carefully written, can have an impact far greater than a hesitant conversation at an opening. A newsletter sent to your collectors, with your reflections on your creative process, creates an intimacy that physical encounters do not always produce.

American conceptual artist On Kawara communicated primarily through his works and his postcards sent daily, bearing the mention I Got Up At followed by his waking time. This minimalist form of communication became a work in itself, nurturing a relationship with his audience that required no face-to-face conversation.

You do not need to be On Kawara to use writing as a relationship tool. A personal email sent to a collector after a purchase, a handwritten note accompanying a work's delivery, a text shared in your newsletter: these written gestures create a sincere connection without physically exposing you.

05The studio visit on your own terms

The studio visit, that ritual visit to the studio by a collector or dealer, is an important art market convention. But it need not follow a single format. If you are more comfortable one-on-one than in a group, offer individual visits. If you are more comfortable in the morning than in the evening, set that schedule. If you prefer to show your work in silence, letting the visitor look before opening the conversation, that is your right.

German artist Wolfgang Laib, known for his installations of pollen and beeswax, receives visitors in his Black Forest studio with a simplicity and calm that are an extension of his work. Silence is part of the experience, and collectors who make the journey know and appreciate this.

Francis Bacon, despite an intense social life in Soho pubs, was very selective about access to his studio. Photographs of his studio at 7 Reece Mews in London, now a reconstructed pilgrimage site at the Hugh Lane Gallery in Dublin, show an intimate space that was not open to all.

06Commerce without the stage

An increasing number of sales happen without physical encounters. The online art market has considerably reduced the necessity of physical presence. A collector can discover your work on a platform, exchange a few messages, and buy without ever having met you. For the introverted artist, this is a liberation.

American artist Carmen Herrera, who did not begin selling her works until age 89 after decades of creating in obscurity, benefited from this market evolution. Her late recognition was carried by galleries, institutions, and online publications that made her work known to a global audience without her needing to multiply public appearances. Lisson Gallery, which represented her, ensured the distribution of her work with discretion and efficiency.

The highest-priced living photographer in the world, Andreas Gursky, is not known for frequent public appearances. His work, represented by Spruth Magers and Matthew Marks Gallery, sells at prices regularly exceeding one million euros without the artist needing to attend social circuit events.

07Protecting your energy

Introversion is not shyness: it is a mode of functioning where energy regenerates in solitude rather than in social contact. If you constantly force the relational dimension, you risk exhausting yourself and compromising the quality of your work, which is nonetheless your best calling card.

Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama, who has voluntarily lived in a psychiatric hospital in Tokyo since 1977 and walks each day to her adjacent studio, has built one of the most spectacular careers in contemporary art while living under strict rules of social withdrawal. Her galleries, including Ota Fine Arts, David Zwirner, and Victoria Miro, manage the entirety of the commercial relationship.

Protecting your energy also means knowing how to say no. No to an opening that does not interest you, no to a collector dinner that makes you uncomfortable, no to an interview you do not wish to give. Every no leaves you more energy for your studio, and it is in your studio that the work is made that allows you to live.

08Finding your own formula

There is no single formula for selling art. The injunction to permanent visibility is one model among others, and it does not suit everyone. Find the formula that works for you: perhaps you are comfortable with writing but not with video. Perhaps you appreciate studio visits but not openings. Perhaps you prefer a discreet but regular online presence rather than sporadic social media activity.

Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson, though rather extroverted, stated in an interview at the Louisiana Museum that the solitude of the studio is the foundation of everything, and that the public dimension should never take precedence over the creative one. If even an artist as publicly present defends the primacy of the studio, you can certainly afford to privilege silence.

Artedusa is a space where your work can meet collectors without you needing to take the stage. The platform presents your works, your texts, your trajectory, and allows buyers to discover you at their own pace, in the calm of their screen. You do not need to be present everywhere to be visible. You need to be present where it counts, and to be there with authenticity. Discover this possibility at artedusa.com.