How to Write Your Artist's Statement Expressing Your Artistic Vision

By Renée Phillips

Renée Phillips is the Director of Manhattan Arts International, an author of several books and a public speaker. She is known as "The Artrepreneur Coach" and provides empowering life and career strategies for creative individuals.

This article is an excerpt from the chapter "Writing It Right" in her book Presentation Power Tools for Fine Artists.

What is the Artist's Statement?

The Artist's Statement is a brief narrative that describes the body of your work and its meaning. It is often the only tool the observer of your work has to fully understand your work, the way you intended it to be understood. It also serves as a promotional tool to avoid misinterpretations of your work.

The artist's statement offers you the opportunity to express your artistic vision. It demonstrates that you know the content of your work, that you are serious about the direction you are currently taking, and that you have the ability to communicate clearly.

The artist's statement serves as a useful written tool that accompanies other presentation materials when approaching dealers, art consultants, collectors, grant givers and the press. It also serves as a basis from which to develop a verbal response when someone asks you about your work. In our fast-paced society, there are many times you will be faced with little time to describe your work. As an artist you should be prepared with a succinct and meaningful explanation at a moment's notice.

Although challenging, the process of creating an artist's statement can be enlightening and informative. It will assist you in the clarification of your creative goals. An artist's statement is very constructive for artists who change their focus frequently. It is useful if you work in different series: You may want to prepare a different statement for each.

An artist's statement that is poorly written or contrived may do more harm than not having one at all. Do not force yourself to write one until you have strong feelings about the motivation behind your work. Have patience and it will write itself.

Some Quick Tips

• It is important to find your own voice and not to copy that of another artist.

• Write the Artist's Statement in the first person.

• Keep your length to one, double-spaced, typewritten page.

• Use "picture words" to express yourself in the most articulate manner.

• Explain the motivation behind your process.

• Explain how your work develops and evolves during the creative process.

• Describe your medium and your style.

• Relate your technique and style to your medium and your vision and philosophy.

• Discuss the way(s) in which your work, medium, technique or vision is unique.

• Avoid grandiose and empty expressions.

• Avoid simplification.

• Avoid being overly technical.

• Avoid self-doubt statements such as "I try to…"

• Avoid repetition.

• Avoid the use of jargon and cliché.

• Vary sentence structure and length.

• Adjust the length of your sentence to relate to the complexity of the idea.