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"VIEW MORE PHOTOS  See something you like at an art gallery? Don&amp;#039;t be afraid to approach someone who works there and start asking questions. In general, the best way to discover or learn about a new artist, medium or trend is to discuss it with an expert while viewing the piece. From the new book, The Art of Buying Art  by Paige West, here are ten questions that should help kick-start a conversation and elicit the information you need to make a purchasing decision. 10 Questions to Ask at a Gallery 1. How old is this artist, and where is he/she from?  2. Is this the artist&amp;#039;s first solo show?  3. Where else has this artist shown?  4. Can you tell me a little about this exhibition?   5. Do you have some earlier work by this artist that I could see?    6. What do you like about this artist&amp;#039;s work?   7. Can you tell me more about this particular piece? (Ask this when you especially like, or even when you especially dislike, a specific work.)   8. Do you have a price list and/or what work is still available?   9. Do you have any printed information on this artist that I can take with me?   10. Do you have a mailing list and, if so, how can I get on it?  1. How old is this artist and where is he/she from? Is the artist young? Do the prices reflect that? Is the artist from the South or from another country? Is that obvious in the work? Sometimes this information won&amp;#039;t tell you anything about the art, but it will give you an idea of who an artist is. This question is also a good icebreaker and can generally lead to more information about an artist without asking anything further. If you inquire at all about an artist, galleries will generally take the opportunity to fill you in on what they want you to know. &amp;quot;This artist graduated from the Yale MFA program and has just been chosen to participate in the Whitney studio program&amp;quot; is the kind of information that&amp;#039;s often thrown in, even if you only asked for the artist&amp;#039;s name. (back to top) 2. Is this the artist&amp;#039;s first solo show? Again, this question is meant to illustrate where the artist is in his or her career. Knowing how much experience an artist has will help you determine if the art is priced fairly. (back to top) 3. Where else has this artist shown? Is the artist moving up the gallery food chain, or is this the artist&amp;#039;s first show? Sometimes artists are represented by more than one gallery. When this occurs, the galleries are usually in different cities, even in different countries. This question also lets you know if there is another gallery to contact about whether there&amp;#039;s more work available by this artist.  TIP: I had been following an artist for a few years and finally decided to add her work to my collection. When I went to the gallery to make a purchase, I was told that they would not sell it to me. I asked why and was told that it was because they didn&amp;#039;t know me. They said that the artist was popular and that they were only selling her work to well-known collectors or museums. I left contacted the artist&amp;#039;s Los Angeles gallery and ended up purchasing multiple works by this artist from them. Ever since, as backup, I&amp;#039;ve always inquired as to where else an artist shows. (back to top) 4. Can you tell me a little bit about this exhibition? This is an obvious question to give you the big picture. Some galleries will provide a one-page write-up on the show that you can take with you. (back to top) 5. Do you have some earlier work by this artist that I can see? Seeing other work by an artist may help you understand the current work a little better. You can ask this question in a gallery and at an art fair. In a gallery, the dealer may pull work out of their back room to show you. At an art fair, dealers generally only have one or two pieces but usually have a book with images of older work. It also may be informative to see how a gallery reacts to this question. Most galleries want you to focus on the current work and won&amp;#039;t pull out other work. This is understandable since the primary goal is to sell the artist&amp;#039;s current work. But if the gallery is willing to show you the other work, you know you&amp;#039;ve found a friendly space that you may want to visit often. (back to top) 6. What do you like about this artist&amp;#039;s work? Ask this question to find out more about the work as well as more about the gallery or person who is talking. How candid is he/she? Does the response sound canned? (back to top) 7. Can you tell me more about this particular piece? Choose one piece in the show to ask questions about. (I especially like to ask this question about a work of art that I dislike.) Get into the nitty-gritty of the work to avoid being confused by a dealer&amp;#039;s &amp;quot;art speak.&amp;quot; For instance, you might hear: &amp;quot;Working in a Modernist model, this artist uses gender clich\u00E9s to present his Postmodern notions of ironic loathing and bourgeois cynicism, rooting his practice in a world of sentiment and Romanticism.&amp;quot; Huh? If the answer leaves you confused, ask more specific questions such as, &amp;quot;What does this blue represent?&amp;quot; or &amp;quot;Is that the artist pictured in this piece?&amp;quot; (back to top) 8. Do you have a price list, and/or what work is still available? Galleries should have a price list out, available to everyone. It&amp;#039;s a good idea, and always interesting, to review the price list whether you&amp;#039;re interested in buying or not. As you gain experience and develop an eye for art, you&amp;#039;ll be able to make judgment calls on whether a work is priced fairly. It is also interesting to see what work has sold and what hasn&amp;#039;t. Many galleries use a round red sticker to indicate that a work has been sold. Sometimes you&amp;#039;ll find them on the wall right next to the art, or placed next to the title on the show&amp;#039;s price. Ask yourself: Would I have purchased that work? See if you think the &amp;quot;best&amp;quot; work has sold or not. What is left? Do you like anything that is left as much as work that has sold? (back to top)  9. Do you have any information in print on this artist that I can take with me? If you ask, galleries often provide a show&amp;#039;s press release or an artist&amp;#039;s resume. They may even part with a copy of the show&amp;#039;s list of all art works, including prices. Keep this information in a notebook (see Keep a Record of What You&amp;#039;ve Seen on page TK) for future reference. (back to top) 10. Do you have a mailing list, and if so, how can I get on it? If you like the art, ask to be put on the gallery&amp;#039;s mailing list. The gallery will most likely start sending you postcards on a monthly basis informing you of upcoming shows.   TIP: I recently spent a few hours with a friend visiting galleries in the Chelsea area of New York City and came to realize that we were being ignored. We wandered through gallery spaces looking at art and taking our time, but were never approached. In three of the five galleries, we didn&amp;#039;t even see another human being since the staff was sequestered behind thick white walls and closed doors. Shocking? No. Frustrating? Yes. Galleries are doing more to focus on client experience, but not all galleries make an effort to welcome walk-in traffic. Just be aware that when visiting a gallery, you may have to go knocking on doors or peeking around walls to get someone&amp;#039;s attention. (back to top) "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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