Artifact Gallery

Any experience here?

artifact gallery
artifactnyc.net

they recommend this awful site:

http://www.arterynyc.com/arterist

This is the content of the email I received

ARTIFACT covers essential exhibition expenses related to the following:

1. Exhibition room (3.7×5.5 m / 12’x18′), it’s maintenance and attendance during a three-week solo exhibition;
2. Gallery assistance in co-ordination of the exhibition, installation and de-installation;
3. Art storage for artwork kept on consignment;
4. Opening reception, including wine and a bartender for a 2-hour reception;
5. Printing of color invitations to the opening reception;
6. Distribution of invitations;
7. Our sales commission is 40%.
8. $100,000.00 (one hundred thousand USD) insurance for artwork on consignment.

ARTIFACT occupies a prime ground floor space in a prime art destination of Manhattan (see our space on http://vimeo.com/78958772). Overall, the gallery spends over $30,000.00 USD to make exhibitions of artists like you possible. To further promote your solo show in a competitive New York art market with over 400 galleries, you may consider marketing options which require additional funding:
1. Exhibition Catalog: Full production (graphic design, printing, delivery to the gallery) of a 24 page color catalog (11″ x 8″ / 28 x 20 cm ) featuring 12 artworks of the artist and related information; distribution of the catalogs to the select list of art critics and curators. $15 per book (100 to 500 books). Please note that there are over 300 names only in our list of the International Association of Art Critics.

2. Catalog Essay written by a a professional New York based art critic – $1200;

3. Advertising in ARTERY – one of the world’s most comprehensive online art publications http://www.arterynyc.com/. ARTERY is a marketing choice of major art museums and institutions, including MoMA, The Brooklyn Museum, The New Museum, The Andy Warhol Museum, Rochester Contemporary Art Center, International Center of Photography, The Drawing Center, Parrish Art Museum, New York Foundation For the Arts, The Jewish Museum, Walker Art Center, Dia: Beacon, Toledo Museum of Art, San Francisco MoMA, Queen Sofia Spanish Institute, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Everson Museum of Art, Neuberger Museum of Art, Japan Society, Denver Art Museum, De Cordova Museum and many others. ($1500.) ARTERY features banners of important art galleries and some of the most exclusive brands, such as Mercedes Benz and Woldorf Astoria. Our publication collaborates with the writers of the highest caliber, such as the legendary Anthony Haden-Guest (Observer, Esquire, GQ), art critic Peter Frank (LA Times) and art writer Alexandra Peers (The Wall Street Journal, New York Observer, New York Magazine).

ARTERY is a marketing venue of choice for the elite galleries and luxury brands (Mercedes Benz, Woldorf Astoria) and select artists. Advertising includes one full year artist’s profile in ARTERY Register http://www.arterynyc.com/arterist/ ($1500).

4. Public Relations:

A. Extensive multimedia campaign and requests to include the artist’s name and work in the editorial content in print and online media, including the following publications:

General
The NY Times, The Wall Street Journal, Newsday, Metro New York, AM-NY, Time Out New York, New York magazine, The Village Voice, The L Magazine, The New York Observer, The Daily News, The New York Post, Daily Candy, Metromix, Newark Star Ledger, Westchester Journal News, Asbury Park Press, Connecticut Post, The Onion, Chelsea Clinton News, The Westsider, West Side Spirit, IN New York, Huffington Post, Avenue, Examiner.com, What’s Up NYC, Paper Magazine, Lucid Culture, NY1, WNBC TV’s Weekend Today in New York, WNBC TV’s LXTV, WABC-TV, WCBS-TV, NYC-TV, WNYW-TV’s, The Bloomberg News.

Art & Culture
Artnet, Artforum, ARTNews, The Art Newspaper, Artinfo, Culturekiosque, Modern Painters, Art in America, ARTNewsletter, VERY Magazine, Manhattan Arts International, Art Journal, ArtsJournal, Tar, Culture Vulture, ArtDaily, ArtNews, Index, Surface, Salon.com, Slate Magazine, CityArts, Playbill, CITYist, The Brooklyn Rail, Artcat, C-Monster.

B. Securing a minimum of one review about Artist’s work in the media;

C. Requests for participation of the Artist in exhibitions at selected museums, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, the Guggenheim Museum, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the New Museum.

D. Compiling and distribution of press-packages (press-release, invitation, catalog) among collectors, critics, and curators. $4000 (A, B, C, D all together)

You may select any combination which meets your goals and budget. When artists are unable to cover related expenses, we look for sponsorship. However, it takes a long time and is uncertain. Meanwhile, scheduling is time sensitive.
For gallery updates you may visit our Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/artifactnyc?bookmark_t=page

18 comments
  • Anonymous

    I have payed for a solo exhibition.The exhibition has been postponed tree times. Now I don’t get an answer from the gallery /Martin Bernstein. Is it a total bluff / fraud. Should he be sued?

  • Anonymous

    It’s now August 2022, and I got my turn being contacted by Martin Bernstein and Artifact NYC. After a little back and forth, they stopped communicating. Checked out google maps pictures, reviews, and found this thread. As usual, if it sounds too good to be true (and includes a lot of boasting), it’s not real. It’s tricky getting an art career going without falling prey to a vanity gallery. Thanks guys, I just saved myself a lot of headache by finding this thread.

    • Anonymous

      Now December 22
      I have got a Instagram message about solo exhibition from Martin Bernstein.

      we would like to discuss an opportunity of your possible solo exhibition at our gallery space. Please email me at info[at]artifactnyc.net if you have any questions. Best regards, Martin Bernstein

      Is this gallery a gallery that only accepts money from the artist and does not lead to the next step of the artist’s career?

  • Anonymous

    Anybody participated in this exhibition ‘Continuity: Modern and Contemporary masters I” that was done on February, 2022

    Summary of the invite email:

    We are completing scheduling of a group exhibition ‘Continuity: Modern and Contemporary Masters II’ at our space in Manhattan in July 2022.

    This special project will include the works of contemporary artists along with Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse and Joan Miro.

    It will explore the links between

    Cost : $1950

  • Anonymous

    I have also been approached by this gallery and have not heard back from them yet, seems odd and suspicious so I think I’ll stay away if they are going to ask for more money or not live up to their promise of promoting the artist on their site.

  • Anonymous

    they email me all the time on this alias gmail account, i exhibited once only under an alias in london and from there they got my email even in 2020 i get emaiils from them with amazing extravagant deals. its all bullshit they want money they havnt even seen my work since that show in london 3 years ago and yet they email me offering me to exhibit next to picasso and on yacht parties where the prince of Monaco attends, Its all bull

  • anonymous

    I booked a show there for the spring, 2018 after turning down 2 less convenient dates. They were quite patient. Buying 120 catalogues, but that’s all. Priced into the prices. They met with me for an hour when we dropped in last spring. Very friendly and pleasant. (But they proposed a weird not economically viable deal this fall that I turned down, so watch out for later “extras”) Will be keeping close tabs on everything and report back after my show. Re being at the desk: many galleries of all types sit at the desk and expect people to ask for help (while others are too pushy). Either way is not ideal. The man at desk was the owner and greeted me by name (recognized me from my website). Maybe the one at desk varies.

  • Gabrielle Shannon

    I was also invited to show at this Gallery with the exact same email.
    I said yes to the whole package to see where it would go.
    They wanted $2,000 down of the $4,000 charge. That would book two weeks for a show three years out. I said I would need to meet in person, as I was coming to NY and lived there part time. I explained I would need to meet at the gallery and discuss details before signing anything or giving them any money. Funny all communication stopped when I asked for a meeting!

  • Milessa Murphy

    I was contacted by the gallery in March 2017 with the exact same information. At first I was excited but I decided to check into it some more, so I booked a flight to NYC to see for myself. When we arrived at the gallery, I told my husband to not divulge who I was or what I did. The gallery looks pretty much like the vimeo but with less art. My problem and the reason why I would not ever show there is…We entered the gallery, the man/salesman/dealer was at the desk on his computer, never even looked up to say hello. Another couple came in and I witnessed the same. I stayed looking at one painting for awhile and he still never attempted to get up or to investigate if I was interested in buying. At that point, we began to leave, opened the door and he barely looked up to say “bye”. It’s obvious to me they are not trying to sell art.

  • Susan

    I agree – it is a vanity gallery. The expectation is to pay $15 per catalogue with their having 300 contacts to whom the catalogues are to go. You can order up to 500 catalogues……at $15 a pop your output, just for catalogues is between $4500 to $7500.

  • Jane

    I had a great experience with Artifact. Very friendly and helpful staff. Yes, I invested in catalogs. What is wrong with that? It is difficult to expect from galleries to cover all expenses considering the amount of rent they pay in Manhattan. Artifact did everything we agreed on and sold two of my paintings. I met several artists who were happy to exhibit there and scheduled their second and third exhibitions.

      • Anonymous

        I would NEVER pay to show at a gallery. I don’t care where it is. The may pay a lot in ten in NYC but they should have a fantastic collector list, contacts that come to their openings and buy work to pay for that rent.

  • Linda

    After being contacted by this ‘gallery’, my son visited the space in NYC. Very unfriendly staff. He recorded his experience while in the gallery.
    Very short with me on the phone, too. He gave unsatisfactory answers to my business questions.
    This is a VANITY GALLERY.
    Stay away!

  • Anonymous

    I was contacted by Artifact early in 2016 about doing a show a wrote back that I was interested and wanted more information I received the information that is posted here not sure if is the way other galleries in NYC work I sent a email saying I was interested in starting with 100 catalogs and may want to do more if I could raise more funds I wanted to send a deposit I had to send several more Emails and then call to get more information on deposits and try to set a date most of the show times I was interested in where book and no one got back too me about the others that was in June of 2016.
    I feel they where fishing for artist to pay for the hole package list here or for most of it and those would be the ones they showed.

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