Getting Personal with Miller Gallery's Sarah Miller Gelber

"How do you find your artists?" 

"What is your submission process?"

"Are you taking new artists?" 

If I had a dime for every time someone asked me these questions, Miller Gallery would be in booth A1 at Art Basel until 2045. Just to be clear, I am not complaining - it is the biggest compliment in the world to know that my "baby" has grown into something people want to be a part of. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

In all honesty though, the answers are not cut and dried...

It's an honor to be able to dive into these questions on the blog. Hopefully my answers will provide insight into the workings of online + brick-and-mortar galleries. Maybe it'll bring a glimmer of transparency to an industry that has been (for too long) veiled in mystery. It may also convey how I personally approach gallery ownership. Working with artists is one of the great joys of my profession, so let's dive into it! 

Question No. 1: How do you find your artists? 

When I began formulating my dream roster in February 2017 I knew I wanted to focus on women artists. This focus came pretty naturally to me as a woman, but also as an empath. I feel all the feelings when I look at artwork. Women tend to create artwork that gives off a higher vibration/energy to me. That's not to say that I don't absolutely adore artwork created by men (van Gogh and Gaudi are truly some of my all-time favorites), but there is a (+) energy in the artwork that women create and I can't get enough of the good vibes. When envisioning the space I'd spend my foreseeable future, it only made sense to lean into what felt right to me. 

After finalizing this one element of the gallery's mission (which took all of five seconds) I put my business hat on. Recognizing that it won't help my artists if I have internal competition, I started looking through my Instagram and local art centers to build a dream roster of artists with individually unique perspectives and methods. I'm a sucker for texture, color, and adventure. The original roster of Miller Gallery artists was born 90% female and consisted of collage, painting, sculpture, mixed-media, and functional artwork. 

Today our roster has grown to 25+ artists, still mostly women, working in a variety of mediums. We've met our artist family through walk-in visitors, our favorite art blogs, art fairs, travels, our friends, collectors, and the Mama of modern-day connection, Instagram. 

 

Question No. 2: What is your submission process? 

If you head over to the Contact page on our website you'll see a note regarding our submissions process. We are so fortunate to be a gallery that resonates with people from all over the world, in various points of their professional art careers. If you would like for us to see your portfolio or consider you for a guest show, send us a note through our contact form! We may not get to you in a timely manner, but we promise to take a peek within a few weeks. 

 

Question No. 3: Are you taking on new artists? 

Kind of. During the COVID-19 pandemic we have taken on a few new artists as Guest Artists. These are creators that we jibe with and want to see how things go! Our guest artist roster is a stepping stone to becoming a full time Miller Gallery artist. We believe gallery representation is similar to marriage. You probably want to see how things go before taking the leap, but sometimes when you know, you know! We ask all of our guest artists to provide a small body of work for our online and storefront gallery space. Commissions/custom pieces by guest artists can be facilitated through Miller Gallery as well. 

I am actively working to broaden the diversity within the gallery. If you are an artist of color and are interested in submitting your portfolio, please do. My goal is to represent artists who have stories to share from all perspectives. Like the neon sign in our front window says, we're all about ART FOR ALL. Thanks to our patrons, Miller Gallery has become a resource for new and established art collectors around the globe. I want our roster to reflect the diversity of our supporters. 

 

Thank you for taking time to learn a little more about the inner workings of Miller Gallery. If you have any specific questions, don't hesitate to reach out through our web form!