So You Don’t Get It—Does That Mean Art Isn’t for You?

Selfless Art Gallery recently attended an exhibition. The work was technically brilliant—composition, color, concept, execution—it had all the hallmarks of something profound. And yet… we felt nothing. We stood before the canvases, and it felt as though we were staring at nothing at all.

At first, there was a pang of self-doubt. After all, we’re a gallery. We should feel something. Was there something wrong with us? Were we missing something? Then it hit us: feeling nothing doesn’t mean you don’t belong in the art world; it means your response belongs elsewhere. Sometimes, a work won’t connect with you—and that’s natural.

Art is deeply personal. One piece might make one person weep with recognition and leave another completely cold. That doesn’t make either response “wrong.” Not all work is for everyone—and part of the joy of art is discovering the pieces that do resonate, the ones that fill you with excitement and awe, and make your mind race.

So if you ever are standing in front of a painting, a sculpture, or a performance and thought, “I don’t get it,” remember this: art isn’t a test, and there’s no passing grade. You’re not broken, you’re not out of place—you’re simply waiting for the art that does speak to you.

Feeling nothing doesn’t make you an outsider. It makes you human. And it makes the moments when you do feel something all the more profound. Art isn’t always meant to move you on command. Sometimes it asks for patience—for space to exist without explanation. The absence of reaction can be its own quiet dialogue, a pause between moments of recognition. And when connection does arrive, it feels all the more powerful for the silence that came before it.