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Online Art Galleries -- Who is represented by online art galleries and how has this changed the way art is collected and critiqued?

If you go online and google “fine art online galleries” you will find a page filled with names of established galleries. It may be difficult to find a gallery that gives major support to the artist because a gallery is in the business to sell art and always has been. I thought I would find a different field of art and collectors on these types of web galleries, but I didn’t. In the galleries it is “business as usual.” For example, artnet.com says “The Network serves dealers and art buyers alike,” it says nothing about supporting artists’ ideas, works and talents.

This didn’t really surprise me but for some reason I thought the internet would host a multitude of artists’ communities.
Some of the work for sale on that site is antique art, design galleries and decorative art; however, there is no physical address for the site. It represents established galleries all over the world. I browsed through and looked at the online auctions to see what’s for sale. It was worth looking at the art and seeing the prices set for this online auction. Over 300 pieces were exhibited for sale with an auction deadline. This sort of auction is set up much like EBay were you submit a bid and wait for the deadline. I don’t know if works of art are flying off the virtual wall or not, but I do know after the show they won’t have to spackle and paint. This recent form of online gallery is not a new trend it is the wave of the future.

I would like to say that the internet should be owned by “the people” but that is just my ideological way of saying there is no corporate enterprise gaining from its use. Well, I know that isn’t true but I like to think the mass majority controls what is important.

When I get a chance to browse through art gallery sites I get lost in the individual pieces that relate to my inner senses. Don’t get me wrong, I love going to gallery openings and sitting in front of works of art contemplating. I get excited when museums bring rare arts I would never be able to see if not for the work of all the dedicated curators.

Because I live on the West Coast of the U.S., I tend to look at sites where I may be able to visit if I just have to go see the work. The Los Angeles County Museum of Art site caught my eye one day and it had a large collection of images I recognized. I found a particular artist’s work I hadn’t seen in years. The excitement I had over discovering that he was still working in the same medium and had some recent work I could study, gave me a feeling of gratitude.

The internet helps me discovery artist I know and opens my awareness to know works. In the past, I may have never been able to know such art and artists existed. The multitude of art sites gives me a chance to explore new and exciting spaces.

Some of the most intriguing of my discoveries were on MYARTSPACE.com. A host of emerging, current and established artist peaked my interest so much one night I spent hours scouring over the works and being mesmerized by what I was viewing.

Now, it only takes me a few minutes to find someone with ideas I can relate to by browsing on MYARTSPACE.com. I have found no other sites like this, and I am sure, the number of artists who post their work to be viewed by millions, give them a feeling of accomplishment and some much needed cash selling their own work. This site gives fine artists their own wall on a page as if it was their personal website and they get to show what is important to them. Thousands and thousands of artists can respond to the world with no huge entry fee.

I fully understand there is nothing compared to viewing a physical piece of artwork but I can pinpoint works of profound creativity in just a few minutes. Sure, I can go the museum sites, gallery sites or sites like artnet to lull my senses, but nothing can replicate the sheer delight I have when I find a piece of art work on MYARTSPACE.com that is so compelling I just have to study it in detail.

This is why I enjoy the intimacy of the internet, even though it is called the World-Wide-Web, I can view and linger as long as I want. Because of this connection I feel like I just tapped into the future. Having a site like MYARTSPACE.com is helping keep the “medium as the message” by giving to the majority of the artists critiquing the artistic relevance.

Jenny Harris
Senior Editor
MYARTSPACE.com