Staying Great: The Real Work of a Gallery

“Every Detail Matters in your Gallery. Its your Taste the Collectors are Purchasing.” Mennonite Scholars.  Image by Ivan Barnett

“Falling in love is easy. Staying in love is much harder.”—Ivan Barnett

Opening a gallery is exhilarating: new walls, new artists, new energy, perhaps even new clients. The community comes out, collectors are curious, the press is often generous. For those first few months, sometimes even the first year, everything feels fresh. But the test of a gallery’s real success—its legacy—comes not in the beginning but in the long arc of its life. Longevity, stamina, and constancy are the true marks of greatness, the kind of greatness that goes down in history.

The Reality Check: Failure Rates

The statistics are sobering. Roughly 80% of new galleries fail within their first five years. Many close before they’ve had a chance to find their footing. Why? It’s rarely a lack of passion. More often it’s because passion isn’t paired with sustainability and enough financial support.

According to the 2024 UBS/Art Basel Art Market Report, gallery closures are now outpacing gallery openings, especially in the mid-tier. These are the galleries that serve as the “middle spine” of the art ecosystem—the ones too small to compete with mega-galleries, yet too ambitious to survive on hobbyist sales. Rising rent, inconsistent cash flow, and shifting collector habits often crush them before they mature.  Also, if they have been traveling in the global art fair arena, finances may be at dangerously low levels.

I saw this countless times while running Patina Gallery in Santa Fe for 25 years. We opened in 1999, in a city already brimming with galleries, and within five years many of those early contemporaries were gone. The difference? We refused to be predictable or average.  Average was never an option.

“Being a ‘Generalist’ in the Gallery World is not Optimum.”  General Store, Pennsylvania Amish Country.  Image by Ivan Barnett.

Freshness Is Survival

Clients, collectors, and patrons are not just buying art; they’re buying experience. The hardest part of running and managing a gallery is not selling the art—it’s keeping the entire gallery experience compelling year after year.

Patrons want to be surprised, moved, and delighted. They want to know that if they step into your space for the hundredth time, they’ll still encounter something as stirring and surprising as the first time they entered your space.  Sometimes they will “check in with you” for no other reason than to reassure themselves that your excellence hasn’t wavered.

At Patina, we achieved this through constant reinvention. I curated contemporary jewelry alongside painting, sculpture alongside photography, always finding connective tissue that made the gallery itself feel alive. Our exhibitions weren’t just hung—they were staged, choreographed like theater. We partnered with institutions like the Santa Fe Opera, SITE Santa Fe, andthe Aspen/Santa Fe Ballet to create immersive cross-disciplinary experiences. These weren’t just exhibitions; they were stories and themes not to be forgotten.

A gallery that repeats itself becomes almost invisible. A gallery that reinvents itself remains necessary for the human spirit.

“Competing on Price in Your Gallery is Never a Good Plan.” Green Dragon Farmers Market.  Image by Ivan Barnett.

Becoming a Classic

The goal, always, should be to become a classic.

What does that mean? It means being a trusted destination that never disappoints, that collectors recommend instinctively. Think of Ralph Lauren. His brand has endured for decades because he holds to his core mission while adjusting themes to reflect the times. He doesn’t abandon his essence; he evolves around it.

The same principle applies to galleries. What makes you who you are must remain authentic to: your curatorial taste, your vision, your commitment to excellence. What changes is the way you present it, the conversations you connect to, and the cultural shifts you acknowledge.

Patina became a classic because our collectors and clients knew they could rely on us. They trusted our eye. They trusted that even if they didn’t buy, they would leave moved and inspired. That trust, once earned, is priceless and far easier said than done.

The Ego Trap

One of the greatest pitfalls I’ve seen is inflated ego. Too many gallerists and artists convince themselves that because they’ve had success, they will always have success. They assume that collectors will keep returning “just because.”

But loyalty in the art world is fickle and fragile. A gallery can lose a devoted client with one season of mediocrity.  And here’s the truth.  They will not tell you.  They will simply not return.

I remind artists and galleries alike: passion alone isn’t enough. You need vision paired with strategy. You need humility as much as confidence. You must always be on the lookout for the extraordinary and be humbled by your mistakes.

“Less is More When Presenting Great Art.”  Mennonite Hardware Store, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.  Image by Ivan Barnett.

The Business of Renewal

At Patina, we survived the shocks of 9/11, the financial crisis of 2008, and the Covid pandemic. Not because we were lucky, but because we kept finding ways to surprise and delight. We pivoted to e-commerce early. We forged partnerships that expanded our audience. We made collectors feel not only seen but essential to the gallery’s story.

I like to say we always had “the green chile”—that unmistakable punch of quality that made Patina unforgettable. Santa Fe locals know: when you’ve had authentic green chile, nothing else compares.

Great galleries are not static. They are living organisms—fueled by curiosity, nurtured by discipline, and sustained by a passion that refuses to fade.

Final Reflection

The truth is this: opening a gallery is pretty easy. Staying great is the hardest and most rewarding work. A gallery is not about being “new;” it is about being renewed.

To become a classic is to always surprise, to never settle, and to love the work as fiercely in year twenty-five as you did in year one.

“Greatness is not a moment—it’s a commitment, repeated daily.  Never let your audience down and never assume that because you were great for a couple of years that an automatic pass has been granted for ‘forever more.’”—IVAN BARNETT.

© 2025