artist statement

Writing your artist statement is a rite of passage.

Your artist statement will be requested by everyone from gallery dealers to show promoters to curators to art writers, bloggers, and podcasters. But what exactly  is an artist statement?

In truth, there is no strict definition, and there are no precise guidelines for an artist statement. I know it would be a lot easier if there were a standard statement format, but there isn’t.

But I\’ve got your back. I\’ve developed this comprehensive guide to help you write your statement.

In I’d Rather Be in the Studio I lay out guidelines for your artist statement, where I say that my ultimate test for an effective artist statement is that it compels people to look at your art.

Think about it: What good is your statement if people only read it and then move on to the next label, the next statement, the next page, or the next artist?

You want more eyeballs on the art!

If you’re not using your statement as a way to engage viewers with the art, you’re missing an opportunity.

Most people do not have a visual education. They are not taught how to look at and appreciate art. Your statement can do this job without being too elementary or condescending.

Every time you teach people how to look at your art, you empower them. You give them confidence to spend more time with the work and to go to a deeper level.

Artist Statement Examples

These are excerpts from artist statements that can be found on their sites. See how they direct you back to the work.

Friends and I were reminiscing about Gilligan’s Island when I revealed too much about my TV-watching habits as a child.

Remember how the castaways on that series made everything from coconuts?

The Professor fashioned a radio and battery charger from coconuts. Why, oh why, couldn’t he make coconut glue and repair a boat to get them off the island???

Maryann was famous for her coconut cream pie.

Everyone drank out of coconut shells, which also became vessels for almost anything imaginable.

Coconuts sustained all of the survivors of the S.S. Minnow. Though they grew weary of coconut-this and coconut-that, they wouldn’t have survived without this fruit.

Your Artist Statement Will Sustain You

Your artist statement is like a coconut. Bear with me here.

The deliberate process of articulating your work will sustain you just as the coconuts sustained Gilligan and crew.