Is Your Artist Statement Working for You

by Carolyn Edlund

Recently I spoke with a woman who told me how frustrated she was trying to write about herself as an artist. She said: “I’m not sure what to say. I know all about my art, but what do others need to know? I’m a visual artist, not a writer.” The result was that she ended up feeling paralyzed and doing nothing. Can you relate to this?

It’s a common problem. Being so close to our own work, we don’t have the ability to step back and be objective. So we’re unable to see the forest for the trees.

That doesn’t change the fact that a well-prepared statement is an essential part of an artist’s presentation. I asked Adam Eisenstat, a professional writer who has been helping artists promote themselves for years, about the importance of an artist statement.

“It’s probably the most basic, concise, and versatile means for you to promote yourself as an artist,” he said. “A good artist statement—which quickly and forcefully explains your art, and highlights what is distinctive about it—will make people more interested in you and your work.

“Some would-be experts claim that an artist statement is superfluous at best, and can only hurt you—if it’s poorly written. Whether an artist statement is unnecessary is debatable, but the latter point is definitely not: a bad or mediocre artist statement is often responsible for thwarting an artist’s success.”

How does an artist statement help you as an artist? Whether it’s used on your art website, for a gallery, grant, fellowship, residency application or otherwise, at some point you will need to produce a strong statement to support your portfolio and help you reach your goals.

This requisite task, then, carries with it a dilemma, which speaks to the inherent difficulties of self-promotion and effectively communicating what you do.

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