In school, my favorite piece of equipment was the large format printer used in the final step of turning an image into an object. Not having access to a large format printer after graduation was hard. Luckily it wasn’t long until I had one within reach of my desk again.
Jeffrey has recently incorporated printed media into his work. We discuss options, quality of the materials and how the prints will present in the artwork.
To assist Jeffrey and the production team, I document artworks during every step of their creation which helps Jeffrey to make formal decisions with minimal friction and allows those decisions to be communicated.
To date, Jeffrey has created close to 1000 artworks during his career. I create profiles on each piece and record information regarding materials, exhibition history, dimensions, and loans. Each of these crates holds an artwork that has returned to the studio after an exhibition. The location of each crate is cataloged and a condition report is completed. The pieces are then stored until its next public viewing.
Jeffrey has become a friend as well as a boss. Before starting at the studio I was told “There is only one Jeffrey.” He brings his trademark kindness and humor to every situation, no matter the context. Early on, I commuted long distances every day. During that time, he paid for my fuel to get to work. It’s an honor to have a working relationship and familiarity with an artist working at his level.
Since starting at the studio, we have created upwards of a hundred new works. As pieces make their way through the studio, production documents must be updated and decisions need to be communicated efficiently.
Each year brings new opportunities and creative challenges: We have an immersive installation at Toronto MOCA, a survey at SITE Santa Fe, a video shoot in the mountains of Aspen, the inaugural exhibition of the new ICA San Francisco, an installation at the Portland Art Museum, and an installation in the Art Gallery of New South Wales in Australia. I am in contact with each institution to make sure goals are being met and Jeffrey’s vision is realized.
What I enjoyed most about my education was the ability to discuss color, process, and practice. One of the many joys of this job is the ability to talk about art with artists and share our passions and pursuits.
This is an early piece of Jeffrey’s from 2004. It was recently exhibited at the Thomas Cole House in Catskill, NY. It features references to handcraft that would later become a prominent feature of his artwork. It is rare to see so much of an artist’s early career outside of a retrospective.
Jeffrey purchased this 1914 post card a few years ago which depicts the French military making contact with indigenous people. An enlarged print of this post card made its way into a recent painting titled “What We Want What We Need.” It is one of my responsibilities to organize Jeffrey’s collection of protest media, vintage beaded accessories, pin back buttons, broaches, and whimsies.
