Most people read a portfolio in a fixed order: the images first, the bio second, the statement only if they are still interested. That gives your bio roughly fifteen seconds to answer one question — who is this, and do I want to keep looking? Get it right and a stranger arrives at your work already knowing what you are about. Get it wrong and they may never scroll past the first image.
What an artist bio is actually for
A bio is not a CV and it is not an artist statement. A CV lists everything you have done. A statement explains why you make what you make. A bio sits between the two: a short, factual, third-person introduction that tells a stranger what you make, where you work, and what you have done with it.
On a UK portfolio site, 100 to 150 words is the sweet spot for an About page. That is long enough to say something real and short enough to be read in one go. Keep a 50-word version saved as well — exhibition organisers, press offices and panel hosts ask for it constantly, usually at short notice.
Write in the third person. Not because it sounds more professional, but because it is useful to other people. A curator building an exhibition page can lift a third-person bio straight into their template. A first-person bio makes them rewrite, and when people have to rewrite, they cut.
A three-part shape that rarely fails
Line one: who and where
Name, discipline, place. "Priya Raman is a ceramicist working in Bristol." That is the whole sentence. Resist adding adjectives to it; you have two more lines for that.
Line two: what you make, and how
This is where you earn the reader's attention. "She throws thin-walled vessels in stoneware and glazes them in the muted greens and ochres of the Avon valley." Two or three concrete details — material, scale, subject, process — will do more for you than a paragraph of atmosphere.
Line three: context
Exhibitions, commissions, collections, publications, residencies, teaching. Pick the three or four strongest and leave the rest for your CV. If you are early in your career, this line can say where your work is stocked, who you make it for, or what you are working on next.
Three sentences, one paragraph, no bullet points inside the bio itself. If a venue asks for something longer, expand line three rather than bolting on a new opening.
The same bio, written badly and well
Here is a version that turns up on real portfolio sites, with the details changed:
Marcus Webb is a passionate and emerging photographer based in Leeds with a love of capturing the beauty of the world around him. His journey into photography began at a young age and he is constantly exploring new ways to tell stories through his lens.
Nothing there is untrue, but nothing is memorable either. "Passionate", "emerging" and "journey" are the three most worn-out words in the form, and "capturing the beauty of the world" describes almost every photographer alive.
Now the same person with the vagueness removed:
Marcus Webb is a documentary photographer based in Leeds. He photographs the traders and back rooms of the city's remaining indoor markets, working in black-and-white film and printing in a shared darkroom. His series Market Days was shown in a group exhibition in the north of England, and he is currently photographing the final year of a family-run fabric stall.
The second version is barely longer, but you can picture the work. It gives a reader something to ask about, which is often the real purpose of a bio.
Small craft decisions that show
- Tense. Present for what you do ("she makes"), past for what you did ("she exhibited"). Chopping between them at random is the clearest sign of a rushed bio.
- Names. Spell galleries, prizes, publications and collaborators exactly as they spell themselves. Check, then check again.
- Adjectives. One is usually enough. If you need three to describe your work, either the work or the sentence is not pulling its weight.
- Numbers. Spell out one to nine, use figures from 10 upwards, and keep dates in the same format throughout.
- Length. If a form asks for 50 words, send 50. Cutting your own text is a skill editors notice.
One bio, three lengths
Write the long version first and cut down from it. The rule for trimming is simple: keep what is specific, lose what is decorative.
- 150 words — your portfolio About page, a solo show handout, a funding application.
- 100 words — a group exhibition page, a guest post byline, a talk listing.
- 50 words — press notes, social media profiles, an introduction read aloud before you speak.
A workable 50-word version of the example above: "Marcus Webb is a documentary photographer in Leeds. He works in black-and-white film, photographing the traders and back rooms of the city's indoor markets. His series Market Days has been shown in group exhibitions in the north of England."
Check it before you publish
- Read it aloud. Anything you would not say to someone standing in front of you gets cut.
- Search the text for "passionate", "aspiring", "journey", "unique" and "explore". Replace or delete each one
Photo: azapf1972 / Pixabay
