Building a Body of Work
Galleries look for artists who present a body of work - something cohesive that feels like a unified artistic voice. Your body of work represents your vision and creative identity.
That doesn’t mean your work has to be monotonous. Variety brings energy and vitality, but too much of it can create chaos. Experiment freely in your studio but know that not every experiment will fit within your cohesive body of work.
Early on as a studio potter, I loved testing everything. I worked with different clay bodies, firing temperatures, and atmospheres. I experimented with glazes. So many glaze tests.
What all my pieces had in common was their maker - me. But they didn’t really speak to one another or look like they belonged in the same family. That mug on the top shelf might have been a second cousin once removed from the sculpture on the bottom. I was having fun and learning, and that’s part of the joy of creating.
The resulting collection looked fine and even sold well enough at local craft fairs. But I hadn’t yet found that defining quality, the thing that made my work mine. Think of Alexander Calder’s mobiles, Georgia O’Keeffe’s flowers, or Keith Haring’s outlined figures. You know their work instantly. That distinct style, that recognizable voice - that’s what a body of work is.
When I first approached galleries, I showed up with pieces that were all over the map. I loved them all and proudly told the gallery owner I had even more at the studio “just tell me what you’d like, and I’ll bring more!” I didn’t realize that’s not how it worked. I was politely sent away and encouraged to narrow my focus.
It’s easy to think that more variety gives the gallery more to choose from and broadens your appeal. In truth, it can signal that you’re still finding your footing. A cohesive body of work moves you beyond the “hobby artist” label. Once a gallery represents you, you’ll have opportunities to show your experimental or one-of-a-kind pieces later.
Many artists divide their studio time between making accessible, affordable work, like mugs, which were by far the best sellers in my gallery, and creating art pieces that are more esoteric, time-consuming, and expensive. Your gallery visits will teach you which pieces to submit for representation. Often, artists reserve their “showpieces” for exhibits and publications while taking more approachable work to their retail galleries.
You see your own work through the lens of its making - the risks you took, the breakthroughs you found, the meaning that drove it. You have favorites, experiments, playful pieces, and “wow” pieces. But it’s challenging to step back and view them objectively. Learning to curate your own work - to see it through the eyes of a gallery owner or collector - is essential.
Be thoughtful when selecting work to present for gallery consideration. Developing that curatorial eye takes time and practice, but it’s time well spent. Over time, you’ll start to recognize the thread that runs through your work, the part that makes it unmistakably yours.
As you continue developing your body of work, remember that clarity and cohesion don’t limit your creativity. They strengthen it. Learning to edit, refine, and see your work as a whole is part of the artist’s evolution. Trust the process. It takes time to develop a recognizable voice, one that feels authentic to you and unmistakably your own.