Arrogance in the art world - How to get off your high horse at gallery openings.

I met my friend Taya at a private opening in January, it was a show called ‘Material Sensibilities’ at October Gallery in Bloomsbury, which featured works using a wide range of processes, aiming to "contemplate the dynamic dance between materiality and the artist’s hand." We both study art history, and so exhibitions are a thing that we enjoy visiting together, and so when we decided to catch up over drinks just a few weeks ago, a show was likely to be included too. Carole Robb, Stato da Màr, an exhibition based on the artist’s time in Venice, was opening at Great Pulteney Street Gallery (GPS) in Soho – and after a peek at a few other options, we decided on this one based on a shared intrigue of Robb’s painting style.

Robb’s ‘Venice paintings’ feature portrayals of people, travel, and reflections in and on water, influenced by the city’s famous canals. Each piece has a serene quality, especially those that depict the city at night. Moonlight Cocktails was especially captivating – we watch from a cold, blue street as a man and woman sit at a table inside a cosy restaurant. Outside, two figures stand, a man and an angel, who share a resemblance with the couple. This appears to be a story of loss and grief, as the seated man stares not at his date but at the angel on the other side of the glass. He has lost a love and is struggling to move on. With a bowed head, a man walks past the window, following a small dog and holding a lone cocktail. Is this the same man who once sat inside, now with a new companion, carrying a drink – this time just for him – as he reminisces about what once was?

Carole Robb, Moonlight Cocktails, Oil on Canvas, 2024

 I had found the opening on Seb’s Art List, a social media presence which informs it’s followers of openings happening all over London every single day – and while it is an incredibly useful catalogue – private openings mean free alcohol, and this can attract people who are more interested in free drinks, disguised as having a taste for ‘high art and society’, rather than patrons who appreciate the art being displayed. This meant that the top floor, where the bar was located, was packed, making the basement level the perfect spot to have meaningful conversations with people who wanted to escape the social chess game taking place just above. I find that the social climbers tend to flee when the fashion scene isn’t ‘old money’ enough, or ‘new money’ enough – or actually – ‘money’ enough.

With this specific crowd comes a façade, a flurry of sycophants with ulterior motives that hide behind nicety – usually in the form of compliments directed toward the artist: “your art is so deep” is a standard line – or if the work is relatively abstract or ridiculous looking: “This is not like other abstract art which is just splatters on a canvas, this has meaning, I can see a story,” they enthuse with waving hand gestures. Roughly translated, this tends to mean “I don’t like your work, yet I want to be your friend, can you get me famous too?” And don’t get me wrong – I understand – living in London, you meet your fair share of rich and famous people out and about, and you secretly wish they’ll like you just enough to give you a ride in their Range Rover or maybe offer you a free flat in central. However, when someone’s whole life becomes one big clamber for success and they start to describe themselves with the term ‘socialite’, they are no longer real – and, for them, gallery exhibitions turn into a competitive sport, rather than recreation.

How do I know? I used to treat private openings the same way, of course. When you’re an artist getting started and you’re sitting at home scrolling through Quora posts titled ‘How to make it as an artist,’ and you get told that art is not at all about creating anymore, but strategic marketing – why wouldn’t you Lizzy-line to Bond Street with a pocketful of business cards? Sadie Coles, Robliant & Voena, Hauser & Wirth – here I come. However, these events are rife with others who are there to do the same thing, and I’m afraid while some may be in the market for some new art, I’m going to go out on a limb and say that they are at this specific show because they like the art being displayed – not necessarily yours.

But, to be clear, just because the above doesn’t work, that doesn’t mean I’m suggesting ditching the openings in search of your next claim to fame. NO

I don’t have it all figured out, but I do know some things. Hopefully this has helped someone a bit lost, not knowing where to start – it’s too easy to fall into the trap of aligning yourself with vapid, mean-girl ‘socialites’ to appease and fit in, or stand out.

So, how do you make it in art? I don’t know – but submit your work where you can, be genuine, support others, pray a little, paint a lot, and maybe one day someone will be kind enough to buy your work, exhibit your work or spread the word. Surround yourself with amazing, real friends – maybe even some other artists – and do the ‘journey’ together. You will be so much happier.

But who am I to judge?

Arrogance in the art world.