On this page you will find my summary of the wisdom available online
PLUS a few recommendations of my own
and a few books you might find helpful.
In general, an artist statement should address what you make, how you make it, why you make it and your understanding of your work's meaning.
— Claremont Graduate University | Claremont Writing Center | How to write an Artist Statement

OVERALL APPROACH
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Always be authentic - Be yourself. Say what you mean and not what you expect people to want to hear. Don't copy friends - be yourself.

Be inclusive not exclusive - your statement should help people to understand you and your work, rather than exclude people from your world.

Keep it simple: The best artist statements say what needs to be said very simply. Make it accessible for everybody. Use words which anybody can understand. Avoid patronising people by using words or concepts only a few will understand.

Keep it short:  Keep sentences and paragraphs short. Keep it concise - edit, edit, edit! If it's more than one page of A4 paper it's far too long. Aim for a couple of paragraphs and try and make it no longer than half a page.

Use a spell check! A spell and grammar check is even better.

Write in the first person - I guess I'm not the only person who feels uncomfortable doing this - but practice really helps to break down the barriers on this one. Thinking about it as a conversation also helps - it's the written equivalent of speaking to somebody about your work at a Private View. 

Try speaking your statement - and recording what you say. This sometimes creates a breakthrough for some people.

Don't write a bio - that's a separate exercise! See How to write an Artist's Resume or CV

​NEED TO KNOW
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Highlight the essential 'need to know' facts - who / what / when / where / why - tips of how to unpack these below.

WHO produces your art - if it's just you, learn to say "I paint" (or whatever it is you do to produce art). If you get people to help I personally think you need to indicate the precise nature of their input.

Identify WHAT you produce - this is the output of your efforts. What should it be called? (e.g. landscape paintings in oil; flower paintings in watercolour). When you're doing this you might want to check out the popularity of different keywords relevant to art. I always have a keyword tool open every time I change the text on my website. I write the content first and then check to see if I've used the most appropriate works to say what I want to say. Remember content first, check second.

Say WHAT your art is made of (e.g. dry media) - don't leave them guessing!

Identify WHEN you produced your art. Tie in the work you're writing about to a time and a place, maybe an exhibition, if that's appropriate. (eg. "I'm currently working on my etchings for the annual exhibition of the national print society where I exhibit every year" or "I've been working on this series of paintings for the last year")

Say how long you've been working in your current media or pursuing your current theme/motif (e.g. is it a new series?)

WHERE: Indicate places which have influenced your art ("Last year I produced a series of paintings based on my three month trip to Outer Mongolia")

Say WHY you work in this way. Explain your reasons for your current choice of subject matter and/or media. You might be exploring a concept. You might be exploring a place. Or you could be painting in series (which makes life sooooo much simpler!) For example, you might be developing a series of drawings with a view to achieving a gold medal in botanical art.
Most art dealers claim that an artist statement is never an important consideration in selecting an artist to show or represent and that a poorly written statement may have a detrimental effect if the artist's slides had otherwise interested the dealer.
Daniel Grant
ART-WRITE: The Writing Guide for Visual Artists
by Vicki Krohn Amorose 
RECOMMENDED: The top rated book on writing for artists. Rated an average of
  • 4.7 out of 5 stars by 83 customer ratings (USA)
  • 4.8 out of 5 stars by 109 customer ratings (UK)
For today's artist writing skills are essential to self-promotion, connection and ongoing career opportunity
The aim of the book is to teach the reader how to write about art. 

Part One covers how to develop and write an Artist Statement. 

Part Two focuses on other types of writing related to having a career in art e.g.
  • writing to make connections
  • filling out forms and writing proposals
  • biography, cover letter and resume
  • writing to impress the press - how to write a press release
Paperback: 126 pages
Publisher: Vicki Krohn Amorose
Date: January 11, 2013

BUY THIS BOOK
I'd Rather Be in the Studio!: The Artist's No-Excuse Guide to Self-Promotion by Alyson Stanfield
This is a book essentially about marketing and equipping an artist to promote their career

It contains one section about how to write an Artist Statement.
Paperback: 250 pages
Publisher: Pentas Press;
Edition: 4th edition
Publication Date: April 17, 2019
also available as KINDLE

The paperback version (editions 1 and 2 rated an average of 4.7 out of 5 stars by 54 customer reviews

Rated an average of
  • 4.8 out of 5 stars by 35 customer ratings (USA)
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars by 8 customer ratings (UK)

BUY THIS BOOK
I'd Rather Be in the Studio! from Amazon.co.uk
Writing the Artist Statement by Ariane Goodwin

I'm including this book more by way of information than recommendation. It's seven years old and the world has moved on since it was written which, I think, in part accounts for the diverse nature of the reviews it gets.
Bottom line - this books prompts extreme reviews of love or hate.

It's a particular approach to developing an artist statement which may help some people while being seriously annoying others. 

Early reviews were good - probably because it didn't have much competition. However latterly not so much. Beware - there are some seriously negative reviews of this book on Amazon.com!
Paperback: 162 pages
Publisher: Infinity Publishing (June 12, 2013)

Rated an average of
  • 3.7 out of 5 stars by 20 customer ratings (USA)
  • 3.7 out of 5 stars by 15 customer ratings (UK)

AUDIENCE
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Write it for the people who you want to buy your art - this is not an academic essay!
"Most artist statements, 99 out of 100, are not useful, and they're often ludicrous. A poorly written statement has turned me off an artist's work.
Philadelphia Inquirer art critic Edward Sozanski

LANGUAGE
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see also The Language of an Artist's Statement

Aim to communicate rather than obfuscate (a word I've used quite deliberately to make the point!) The most articulate people are those who can explain complex ideas in simple terms.

Ignore all that conceptual "art speak" and jargon that you see around - I've come across very few people who are impressed by it which rather suggests buyers might think likewise. It's also associated with the sort of contemporary art scene which periodically falls off a cliff in terms of sales and art.

Never ever use an artist statement generator. Your artist statement needs to sound like you not like a machine. Besides which Google recognises "spun" text and is not impressed.

If you really can't write - work with somebody who can. Never ever underestimate the scope of a badly written artist statement to turn people off your art.

REVIEW / REVISE
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Never forget that the short version takes longer! Start long and aim to get shorter and shorter until you get to concise! Draft, revise, review, edit, redraft, revise, review, edit etc

Don't be afraid to review and revise over time - Don't worry if you keep changing your artist's statement - your art also changes over time so it's logical that your artist's statement should to. It can also be a very positive sign. It's very good if revision reflects how you are becoming clearer about what it is you do and what influences the way you work and what you produce.

Work out what are your core and supplementary statements - Lead people through your work. Don't try and say it all in one go! 
  • On my website the core and overarching statement goes on the 'About the Artist' page. 
  • However I also have supplementary statements on each of the pages about the different types of art I produce.
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More Tips - artist statement articles
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Artist's Statements - A Critique 
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Below are reviews of reviews of different approaches and perspectives. Most of these posts are by photographers who offer a fresh and insightful perspective to the issue of artists' statements.
  • Conscientious in limbo: More on statements
    Here is a serious collector talking about how he views statements: "In some ways, an artist's career can be thought of as the ultimate exercise in word of mouth.........
  • DLK COLLECTION: A Few Additions to the Discussion of Artist Statements
    For us, artist statements are like road maps: they give us clues to better understand the work we are seeing. Optimally, they should be as clear and to the point as possible, thereby making it more likely that any background information that is impor
  • Daniel Grant: Are "Artists' Statements" Really Necessary?
    Clearly, there are two issues here: The first is whether or not to include an artist statement as part of an exhibition or in a packet of slides sent to a dealer; the second is how to conceive of, and write, a statement that helps the viewer apprecia
  • Frank Hobbs: The Dreaded Artist Statement
    Why am I always blind-sided when the folks from public relations ask for an artist's statement? Here we go, another verbal disfigurement of whatever it is that I do as an artist. Whenever I finish writing an artist's statement I feel as if I have jus
Banner: Photo by Jan Kahánek on Unsplash
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