Do I Need a Studio?

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I make art on a small kitchen table in my house, which makes it difficult to invite people over for studio visits. I don’t have the money for a dedicated studio, but I’m too embarrassed to invite curators and dealers to see my work without better viewing conditions. Also, I don’t live all that close to a major city center. What can I do? —Shy and living remotely.

You want to know if your kitchen table studio will hurt your career. The answer is pretty straightforward: No. Not if you handle it properly. 

But let’s back up. Is there even an ideal studio setup we should all be aspiring to? Traditionally, we tend to value centrally located studios with pristine white walls, even lighting and plenty of storage. If you can afford to rent or build out those spaces, that’s great. But a lot of artists don’t have that money and might never find it. 

You might want a better space, but the only space I remember because it was so amazing was that of an artist who occupied an entire floor of the new World Trade Center. You don’t forget a 360-degree view of the city nearly 100 stories above ground. The space had been donated by a wealthy real estate magnate who lost millions when the trade towers were attacked in 2001. The artist made paintings of those towers. The studio views informed the work, but they didn’t help him get any more opportunities.  

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Of course, your concern isn’t so much that you need a big fancy space to show off your art, but that you don’t compromise the work you have. I’d argue the space itself is less relevant to this question than how you handle it. I’ve done studio visits in all the usual places — home studios, storage facilities, refurbished factories, nonprofit residencies, and universities. But I’ve also done them in kitchens, living rooms, coffee shops, parks, a motor home, a clock tower, a roller rink, a bowling alley, and a farmer’s field. I once walked down a driveway lined with luxury cars that led to the home studio of an artist. Her husband was a mechanic. 

If anything, I remember the art better because of its unique location, a net positive to the artist. Probably 50% of all studio-related anxiety I witness has less to do with the studio itself, but a lack of confidence around the work itself. Unfortunately, a nervous brain is very good at coming up with reasons why we can’t have people in the studio, even when none exist.t. 

The problem, of course, is that if we believe our anxiety, we won’t do the thing that’s actually scary — sending the invite in the first place. One of the ways I tend to handle this is to eliminate as much of the uncertainty that drives inaction as possible. If you already know a lot about the person you’re requesting a visit from, not only will the email be easier to write, but the studio visit will be easier to prepare. You can ask them what they want to see. 

I’m not claiming this as a panacea for the task. Fear of rejection can never be entirely eliminated, and there will always be some invites that are harder to send. But sending them out frequently certainly helps you get used to dealing with the inevitable anxiety associated with it. 

That said, anxiety isn’t always the culprit — sometimes the space itself presents real logistical challenges. I want to acknowledge something here:  I’ve said the studio location doesn’t matter as much as you think it does, and that your problem might be anxiety. But you might also be right. Your studio could be too hard for others to reach or so full of clutter that it’s impossible to properly view the art. If you can’t make your kitchen distraction-free, you may need to resort to options outside your home. Luckily, there are solutions for this. 

You can still conduct a studio visit with an iPad or a Zoom account, but at a certain point, you want people to be able to see the work in person. In cases like this, consider a studio share with another artist who allows you to use their space periodically for viewing in return for a small rental fee. I know one artist who maintains a studio share like this so she can travel to New York once a month and invite people into the studio for feedback. Another pair of artists I know, who split a studio often, share studio visits with their guests. For art professionals who consider it part of their job to see artist studios, it’s a great way to make a trip worth their while. 

Clean your studio! A studio that hasn’t been cleaned in the lifetime of the artist is a studio that won’t be visited twice. If there aren’t any clean chairs to sit on and I’ve spent an hour traveling, that’s a deal breaker for me and most others. 

Have water available! I’ve traveled an hour in summer heat only to go searching for it. One of the best studio visits I’ve ever had began with lunch in the artist’s kitchen. When you feel taken care of, it’s easy to be generous with your feedback in the studio. Moreover, it’s an indication of what a working relationship might look like. If you don’t think about the needs of your guests during a studio visit, how will that translate to a working relationship? Most professionals will take a lack of preparation as a bad sign. 

If all of these solutions feel out of reach, your studio practice won’t grow. There’s no alternative to getting people in front of your work. The kitchen studio doesn’t have to be your liability. It’s memorable, intimate, and if you prepare well, it will signal exactly the kind of thoughtful practice curators and dealers want to work with.

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