Malvine Marichal portrait Susan Cummins: Nicole, what is your background and what led you to start a gallery? Nicole Thienpont: My first degree was in chemistry at the University of Gent. In my language the degree is called ‘licentiate in chemistry.’ So for me the melting of metals and the experience in laboratories is very […]
Malvine Marichal: Pro-Forma Read More »
Quirk Gallery Susan Cummins: Tell me the story of how Quirk Gallery got started. Maggie Smith: Katie Ukrop opened Quirk in 2005 in an upcoming section of Richmond’s downtown area. There were a few galleries already located in our neighborhood. The area has continued to grow and recently became recognized as the Richmond’s Arts &
Robin Kranitzky and Kim Overstreet Read More »
This is the AJF blog’s first look at Heidi Lowe Gallery in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, but we recently featured a profile of Heidi and the gallery in the July AJF newsletter – a members only feature. The gallery’s latest show is called Desire, a theme that many jewelers investigate. I was curious as to who was included and how the idea was handled.
Susan Cummins: AJF featured you and your gallery in the July newsletter so I don’t want to repeat the questions asked, but for the sake of this interview, can you give me a short version of the story of how you decided to run a jewelry gallery?
I have always been drawn to the museum/gallery sector of the art world. As an undergrad I worked at the Baxter Gallery at Maine College of Art. The director, Jennifer Gross, was a great mentor and she allowed me to participate in all aspects of the gallery. At SUNY I realized how few places the public has to experience art jewelry. Opening a gallery was a way to realize a dream of mine and contribute to the field in general. After grad school I moved to New York City to work at Leo Koenig Inc., a contemporary art gallery in the heart of Chelsea. This experience helped me to understand the logistics of running a gallery, but did not provide a model that I could see myself owning. It was not until I visited Dunedin in New Zealand that I found a gallery that spoke to me. The gallery, Lure, was run by artists, showed many artists’ work and provided a fun and inviting space for the public to interact with art jewelry. This solidified my vision and I opened the gallery three months after returning from New Zealand.
Desire curated by Megan Romero Read More »
Exterior of Platina Susan Cummins: Please tell us the story of how you became a gallery owner in Stockholm. Sofia Björkman: I took my MFA 1998 as a jewelry maker. At that time there were no galleries in Stockholm that supported graduating students and we knew very little about the international jewelry world. We learned
Iris Eichenberg: Sense Mapping Read More »
Galerie Marzee exterior Susan Cummins: Marie- Jose, what led you to create a four-storey high jewelry gallery in a smallish town in the middle of the Netherlands? Marie Jose Van Den Hout: Well, I started my gallery in Nijmegen. This is my second move and my third building. The Town Council of Nijmegen wanted to
Antje Bräuer, Jewelry Read More »
Before written language or the spoken word, there was jewelry. Jewelry can be traced back to the very first humans and those humans came from Africa. The Martin and Osa Johnson Safari Museum is in an unlikely setting for a repository of information on ‘traditional’ peoples of Africa. The museum can be found far out
The Martin and Osa Johnson Safari Museum Read More »
Katie Scott in the gallery Susan Cummins: For those that haven’t visited you in Melbourne, could you please give us a history of the gallery and its physical location and qualities? Katie Scott: Mari Funaki opened Gallery Funaki in 1995. She had recently graduated from the gold and silversmithing program at RMIT and wanted to
Blanche Tilden: Wearable Cities Read More »
Ulysses Dietz It is always cruel to ask a curator to pinpoint his or her favorite object. I have 40,000 things under my stewardship, ranging from the late 1400s to the present day and while some of them I frankly don’t care if I ever see again, there are many I love to the point
Sara Morgan I have been asked to do the impossible about the jewelry I collect: write about the one that got away, or write about my favorite piece. I could tell you about some of my favorite former pieces that got away because I decided to stick them in my suitcase at the last minute
Karen Gilbert and Anne-Katherine Schjerbeck (Katrina) Susan Cummins: Karen, can you tell us the story of how you became a jeweler and then a gallery owner? What is your training? Karen Gilbert: I started as a painting major in school at The California College of the Arts, but while taking a metal class as an
Meghan Patrice Riley: L’Age D’Or Read More »
Portrait of Alan Preston Susan Cummins: Is Fingers still a cooperative? How does it work? Alan Preston: It was always five or six separate businesses operating collectively. One of these is Fingers. We still have five members selling their work through Fingers and we sell around 60+ makers on commission. We employ five people who
Matthew McIntyre-Wilson: Nga Mahanga: The Twins Read More »
Exterior view of Patina Gallery, photo: Grey Crawford Susan Cummins: Ivan and Allison, you are partners in the gallery. Correct? Can you give me some idea about your backgrounds? How did you get into this business? Allison Buchsbaum-Barnett: I have a BFA in metalsmithing from Syracuse where I studied with Michael Jerry and Barbara
Myung Urso: Line + Brush Read More »
