Artist Statement Links

Why write an artist statement? After all you're an artist, not a writer. Right? The fact of the matter is that as a proffessional artists you will have to write about yourself and your work from time to time and the sooner you get used to this reality the better. Artist statements are used for all manner of reasons in an artist's carreer starting with statements written for entry into grad school. Most graduate level scholarships require an artist statement of some sort and those who plan to enter the gallery scene will be asked to write brief statements about their work in order to help the gallery proprietor better represent your work to prosepctive clients.

I could go on and on but instead I'll just post the following link which will direct you to numerous writings on the subject of artsist statements.

Artist Statement links

Josh Rios sent in this online statement by artist Jason Villegas:
Jason Villegas Artist Statement here.

Searching commercial gallery websites is a great place to find examples of artist statements as are some art school faculty listings. Ultimately you, the artist, need to relax, take a deep breath, sit down and write. Becoming comfortable with the writing process is simply a matter of practicing writing often. I think it is a good thing to keep a "studio" journal in which you archive your thoughts and artistic process as they occur. Daily writing, even if merely a paragraph, is good practice not only for developing the skills to write good artist statements but also to increase your ability to communicate your ideas effectively in your work. Afterall, visual art is at its core a communicative vocation.

Keep in mind, however, that artist statements and resumes are only necessary if you are a working artist. Always keep the priority on making work. Without the work statements and resumes mean nothing. Start in your studio with the attitude that you are an artist making work that you want to make, making it well, and lots of it. But while you're doing all that, log your ideas so that when that time comes to write efficiently about your work, you will have no problem doing so.