Why an Artist Needs an Art Historian: When You Should Not Write About Your Own Work

An artist speaks the language of form, colour and material — that is their job. But an artist’s career today is half made of texts: a biography for a gallery website, an artist statement for a competition, an introduction for a catalogue, an exhibition press release, a description of a painting for a buyer. And almost always the artist writes these texts alone — at the last minute, reluctantly, and “as best they can”.

Why self-description does not work

The reason is not a lack of talent for words. Writing about one’s own work is fundamentally difficult: from the inside, you cannot see what is unique in your method and what is commonplace. Some artists, out of modesty, write about themselves too drily; others, determined to be heard, write too loudly — and both extremes repel the professional reader: the curator, the gallerist, the journalist. Moreover, texts about art have their own laws of genre — a catalogue essay, a section text and a press release are written differently, and breaking those laws instantly betrays an amateur text.

What a professional text changes

An art historian does the essential thing: places the work in the context of art history. It is one thing to say “I paint landscapes of my native region”, and quite another to point precisely to the tradition the artist belongs to, to their teachers, their method and their place among contemporaries. Such a text:

• gives the gallery and the museum a ready-made professional language for talking about you;
• strengthens the collector’s confidence — the purchase is backed by an expert description;
• works in the press: it is easier for a journalist to write about an artist about whom a good article already exists;
• remains forever: a book or article by an art historian is a document that writes the artist into the history of world art.

When to turn to an art historian

The occasion is usually an event: a solo exhibition, an anniversary of one’s creative career, the publication of an album, a move towards a new audience or market. But it is better to do it regularly: when a body of new work has accumulated and there is as yet no coherent text about it. When the artist feels that a new stage of their work has begun. When the need arises to make sense of what has already been created.

You can start small — with a professional biography and descriptions of key works — and later grow to an article or a book.

I write books, articles and exhibition texts about artists — see the page of services for artists or write to me to discuss your task.