Zavier Ellis is director of CHARLIE SMITH london. In an article from 2013, shares his experiences on finding and working with artists
About the gallery and how we work
CHARLIE SMITH london is a commercial gallery in Old Street that has a programme of changing exhibitions. These are either one person (solo) shows or group exhibitions. Each show usually lasts for five weeks. I have been running the gallery since 2007 and been working with artists for some years before it began.
My perspective in running a gallery is very curatorial, but I am also an art dealer. I don’t believe commercial gallerists when they tell me they are not art dealers. Gallerists who sell work are art dealers.
I exhibit emerging to mid-career artists. Representing artists as they emerge, we have grown together in our careers. The artists I worked with years ago when they were ‘emerging’ are working their way towards being ‘mid-career’ now.
Gallery artists are our core concern. We work together and communicate regularly, and I am at their service. Then there are artists I have a relationship with, but do not represent. Some of them I show regularly. Then further out there are artists that I work with just once or infrequently.
I am constantly identifying and working with artists new to me. Depending on how things develop, an artist from a particular project might transfer into another project. I might sometimes begin to represent them too. I have several projects to work with artists I am interested in.
My audience too might also come from one project to another. My target audience is primarily collectors, but also a general art world audience. I sell work to well-known collectors like Charles Saatchi, Peter Nobel, Thomas Rusche or Javier Baz, as well as to smaller-scale domestic collectors. I often meet them by taking part in art fairs or through my own projects.
It might look like I run a pretty traditional commercial gallery. Combined with my other projects it is actually a more complicated project. The gallery and my projects together emphasise curation, ambition, hard and dedicated work, lateral thinking and collaboration. It works with other curators, other galleries, artists, and collectors.
It is also important to me that the art works are relevant to me personally as well as with potential audiences or collectors. Despite this, I trust my own instinct rather than attempting to second guess the market.
My mission
My mission is to find artists to pair with collectors, with me as gallerist / curator in the middle. I look for authentic artists that engage fully with their internal critical model.
I became a gallerist / curator by studying history of modern art and then fine art, so feel I have a profound understanding of what it is to be an artist. I can relate to the struggle of making art work, and still make art work myself. I am open to all media with perhaps the deepest affiliation with painting and respond to work with strong content. I am interested in horror and beauty; the sublime; the psychological and psychoanalytical; religion and death; magic and mythology; sexuality. The big human themes.
Types of artist I work with
Just as I look for authenticity in the artist I also look for an authentic, instinctive reaction in myself when looking at art work. This is the key factor in starting a professional relationship with an artist. I look for consistency and professionalism. It is helpful to have complimentary personalities as well. I am not interested in working with a difficult or lazy artist. I’m looking for an individual that can work in a climate of mutual respect and trust. And these relationships can only be maintained with honesty, integrity and progress. And so there must be drive, ambition and commitment on both sides.
Being found by a commercial gallery
Even though galleries are looking for artists they usually don’t accept applications. It’s the same with collectors. I have noticed that collectors enjoy the hunt for an artist they like, and the process of discovery, just like me. We do not want to be told. We might take a recommendation, but would far rather find someone independently. Both artists and galleries need to put themselves in the shop window, but in the right way. The gallery needs to go to the right art fairs to meet the right collectors. The artist needs to go to the right art schools and be active. Everyone always must be active.
At the earliest stages of an artist’s career self-organised exhibitions are a good idea. This helps you to learn what goes in to an exhibition and make contacts. There is a possibility that a buzz might start around your work. Keep in touch with galleries who might be interested in your work. Follow up but be subtle: don’t be aggressive or desperate; don’t be arrogant or presumptuous. An artist should always take time to promote their shows and identify galleries where they might fit. Then ask the gallery how (or if) they like to be approached.
Probably the best way for an artist to be noticed is by applying to prize exhibitions. I launched my prize show Anthology (2011-2017). I looked at all applicants work alongside invited panellists. Applying to prize exhibitions means that your work is seen by important art world professionals who sit on juries. Even if you are not selected, other opportunities can arise. And if you are selected, you get exposure anyway.
Zavier Ellis is the director of CHARLIE SMITH london and co-founder of The Future Can Wait. He has curated exhibitions in Berlin, Helsinki, Klaipeda, London, Los Angeles, Naples and Rome. Zavier also collects art and is an artist.
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