Solo exhibition

Having solo shows of one's artwork marks the achievement of success and usually is accompanied by receptions and a great deal of publicity.

It is thought that the first solo exhibition in Britain was staged by Joseph Wright of Derby in 1785,[1] the year after he refused to become a Royal Academician.

As artists gain stature and attract a following who will purchase their works in greater numbers, gallery owners will promote their works in solo shows with a great deal of publicity about the show.

The artists with the greatest appeal to a gallery's clients may be invited to be represented by that gallery consistently, developing a constant relationship that even may develop into exclusive rights to offer the sale of the works by those artists.

The term "one-man show" was used at times to describe these art exhibitions, but has fallen out of favor, even though the term "one-man show" persists to describe a solo performance among some entertainment venues and performing arts.

Indian Widow was exhibited at the first recorded solo exhibition of art in Britain, held by Joseph Wright of Derby during 1785
Jim Gary's Twentieth Century Dinosaurs solo exhibition at the Smithsonian Museum , April–August 1990, Washington, D.C. The sculptor (center) is near one of his sculptures