What is a Collector Preview, and how do I sign up for one?

Every month, Spoke Art sends out an advance collectors preview for our latest shows. This preview contains an early look at the show's available works along with pricing and availability. People who inquire for a preview typically receive a first chance to purchase original works from our shows before the general public.

To request a Collector's Preview for an upcoming show, simply email the gallery at info@spoke-art.com and they'll forward you along to the appropriate gallery director.

How do Collector's Previews work? Are they first-come, first-served?

We do not do "first-come, first-served" when placing works for a show. This is in consideration of our international collectors and the fact that many collectors cannot reply instantaneously to a preview due to time zone differences and work/personal obligations.

So, how do you decide where and how works are placed?

Placing works in the best homes and collections is always our priority. When making these decisions, we take into account several factors:

• Is the collector looking to make substantial art donations or commitments for art donation to institutions such as museums, art centers, or public collections?
• What is our history with the collector and have they been supportive of our gallery and our other artists in the past?
• What works are in a person's collection already? Distributing works evenly to as many quality collectors as possible is important to us, so having too many or too few works by a particular artist is something we like to take into account.
• Has the collector missed out on works by this artist in the past? Sometimes not being able to acquire works from a show can work in your benefit down the road as we do like to distribute works evenly when we can.

What is the best way to ensure I can get work from a particular artist?

There are few things you can do to help your chances of getting a piece by a specific artist, especially one in high demand:

• Get in touch as early as possible and please be patient.
• Once a preview is sent out, it's always recommended to send us a list of at least three works that you're interested in, especially for popular shows. If you only want one piece, and that piece is hotly contested, your odds will simply be lower. However, if you let us know a couple options, we will have more flexibility and your chances of being able to get something will be greater.
• When responding to a preview, please let us know a direct phone number to reach you, or please be as responsive to our emails as possible. Often, we can only hold work for a short amount of time, especially if there are other collectors inquiring, so being accessible and communicative goes a long way!
• We love building personal relationships with our collectors and look forward to getting to know who are collectors are and what it is they collect. Visiting our galleries in person, getting to know our gallery directors, or saying 'hi' to us at an art fair or event is a great start. We want collecting to be as rewarding and personal as possible, so let's get to know each other!

Are prints or limited editions made available in a Collector's Preview?

It's very rare that we'll offer limited editions to our preview list, for the most part our previews focus only on original works. If you are interested in an upcoming print, please sign up for our email list and follow us on social media for details on upcoming releases.

I've missed out on a piece by my favorite artist, what's next?

First of all, our apologies if you've been unable to purchase a work from one of our shows. Original works are always one of a kind and often there is simply more demand for an artist's work than is possible to have that artist make. With that said, if you do miss out on a work from a show:

• Please let us know that you'd like to continue being kept updated and that your interest in that artist remains. Most of our artists work with us regularly, so the odds are very good that we'll have a new show or body of work ready for you down the road.
• Build your relationship with us! By supporting our gallery you help us keep our programming alive and allow us to keep putting on great art shows. Whether that's by picking up new works regularly, attending our events in person, or simply showing us some love, anything you can do to support us will allow us to help support you back.
• Be patient! Art collecting is an incredibly rewarding hobby and the best collectors know that sometimes it can take months, or even years, to find just the right piece by a particular artist. We're in it for the long haul, and hopefully so are you, so let's work together for many years to come!