Behind the Glam: Poor Work-Life Balance in Art Galleries

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I am Maria Brito, an art advisor, curator, and author based in New York City.

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Artlogic, the software company widely used by top galleries to manage inventory, send previews, and handle invoicing, recently conducted a survey among 333 gallery professionals across 50 countries (although primarily US and Europe), including owners, directors, managers, registrars, and assistants.

The findings reveal a striking disparity in work-life balance within the art world: globally, only 49% of gallery professionals reported having a "good work-life balance." In the US, just 39% of respondents were satisfied with their balance (meaning 61% were not), while in Europe, a healthier 57% felt they had achieved a good balance, with 43% feeling otherwise.

It's an interesting yet unsurprising contrast: Europeans, known for valuing lifestyle and balance, seem to fare better. However, US galleries, while more demanding, offer higher compensation and cater to the world's largest pool of art collectors. According to the UBS and Art Basel Art Market Report, 42% of global art sales in 2023 came from the US, compared to 17% from the UK, 7% from France, 3% from Switzerland, 2% from Germany, and 1% from Spain.

I bet many, if not most of the US answers, came from young professionals in New York. After all, New York City is home to over 1,400 art galleries, more than any other city in the world. But in this city, hard work isn’t just expected, it’s the price of admission.

What often goes unaddressed in reports like these is the underlying reason why gallery professionals are overworked and stressed: the relentless pace of gallery expansion and the growing pressure to participate in an increasing number of art fairs.

When a gallery commits to putting together 8-10 exhibitions per physical location a year yet operates in multiple spaces in one city and continues expanding to others, the pressure to constantly sell escalates.

Add to this the exhausting art fair circuit that runs year-round, and you end up not only with burned-out employees and owners, but also a decline in the quality of art being shown. The strain to keep up often results in subpar exhibitions, where not everything meets the standard of excellence that galleries once upheld.

The French love their drama, and even their art isn’t spared. Emmanuel Macron greenlit the substitution of the stained-glass windows at Notre Dame, which suffered some damage during the fire that has kept the mega cathedral shut down since 2019.

In truth, the windows are not the original 12th-century creations, but rather the work of 19th-century architect Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, who crafted them as part of a major restoration of the cathedral. In July, France's National Commission for Heritage and Architecture (CNPA) unanimously opposed a proposal to modernize these windows. Despite this, the French Ministry of Culture has shortlisted eight finalists to design new stained glass for six chapels along the cathedral’s south aisle, continuing the debate over blending tradition with contemporary art in this historic site.

Finalists for the window designs include Jean-Michel Alberola, Daniel Buren, Philippe Parreno, Yan Pei-Ming, Christine Safa, Claire Tabouret, Gerard Traquandi and Flavie Vincent-Petit. The selection has been narrowed from an initial pool of over 100 artistic and glassmaking teams.

What's intriguing is that nearly all of the shortlisted artists are part of François Pinault's collection; the same François Pinault who donated 100 million euros toward the restoration (about 14% of the 700 million euro total, but still). Coincidence? Or did Monsieur Pinault have a hand in influencing the French Ministry of Culture’s shortlist, and perhaps even the selection of the artist who will make history by designing the new windows for one of the world’s most iconic and visited landmarks in the world?

I’ve known the work of Hillary Pecis for at least 10 years, when she used to show with smaller galleries in New York and LA. She has been upping her game for a while, so much so that she’s now represented by David Kordansky.

In this solo show called “Warm Rhythm,” she takes her love of pattern and decoration to the next level, creating new works that dive deeper into the art of layering. Every surface is packed with bold colors and shapes, transforming domestic scenes into rich tapestries of form and texture.

There’s a lot going on in these paintings: flowers, Christmas trees, quilts, cats, books. It’s a “more is more” approach that doesn’t feel chaotic; it’s cohesive and draws you in.

Ownership of ideas and creative control seem to be such fickle concepts in our world, where one can post an image on social media and within minutes it is exposed to millions of others who can appropriate it, screenshot it, forward it, use it for inspiration to create something else, or blatantly copy it without ever giving credit to its original executor. Here’s a brief history of creative ownership and what it means today.

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