Voices: Jayne Johnson, JDJ, Garrison, NY
Jayne Johnson
Jayne Johnson is the owner and Director of JDJ, located in Garrison, New York.
JDJ | The Ice House, Garrison, NY. Photo credit Kyle Knodell
What are some common themes in your program?
There is often a political undercurrent to the gallery's program in some form or another. I am particularly interested in the complex relationship between labor, gender, and American capitalism, and issues related to the domestic realm. There is a rhizomatic relationship between domestic work, identity, and money, and the American capitalist system has historically failed those who perform it by ignoring the value that it creates for society as a whole. Thinking about these issues and how I was to reconcile them with my personal life is, in part, what inspired me to open the gallery. It is also related to the gallery's location and its original use--as a place for domestic laborers to work in service of a wealthy family.
Tell us about why you decided to open a gallery.
After the arrival of my daughter 2 years ago, and after 15 years of working in the art world in New York, I decided to open a gallery in the Hudson Highlands, about an hour north of New York City. My goal was, and remains, to create a different kind of gallery model for myself that allows for a holistic approach to my life--one that gives me space to develop a dynamic and ambitious program that also allows me to spend time with my family.
What is your favourite thing about your gallery space?
The gallery is in a former ice house, built in 1911, part of a compound of buildings that was once and agricultural compound and the servants' quarters for a large estate on the Hudson River. The property is incredibly beautiful, with the gallery sitting on the edge of a pond, wild flowers, trees and grasses all around. Being here is quite literally a breath of fresh air, and it completely transforms the art viewing experience.
Lucia Love Two Aphrodites, 2017 oil on panel 20 × 30 inches. Photo courtesy of JDJ.
Tell us about one show you are excited to present in your gallery this spring.
I'm excited to present an exhibition of works on handmade paper by Noel W. Anderson, who is an incredible artist working with an archive of images that examine the American imagination of black masculinity. He sources images from mass media--TV, film, newspapers--depicting black men in different positions of status: the raised hand of Martin Luther King, Jr., a lineup of prisoners along a fence, the powerful legs of basketball player Spud Webb mid-dunk. Noel made these during a recent residency at Dieu Donné in New York. The images are not made from ink or paint -- rather, they are made of different colors of paper pulp pressed onto handmade cotton paper. Like his distressed tapestry works, these also fuse image and object together.
Why are you passionate about art?
At its best, art can change the way you see the world. It can make something visible that is usually unseen. It can communicate a complex narrative, thought, or emotion without words.
What do you think is the greatest challenge galleries face today? How are you addressing this?
Overhead costs a challenge for galleries small and large, emerging and established, and particularly in cities like New York. I decided to locate the gallery just outside the city primarily because I wanted to create a different kind of gallery experience than what is possible within the New York real estate landscape, but certainly it helps minimize overhead to be located off the beaten path.
Lucia Love Holding Pattern, 2019 Oil on panel 18 × 24 inches. Courtesy of JDJ.
How have you grown as a dealer over the years?
I have had over 15 years of experience in the art world, from directing galleries large and small, directing an art fair, and working at institutions. I've been able to take from these many experiences what works for me, and rethink what doesn't, as I give shape to JDJ in its early years.
What are you busy working on right now?
I'm delighted to be working on a solo exhibition with Susan Weil, opening in Summer 2020. Susan is an unsung legend of the New York art world. She was an integral force at Black Mountain College where she studied under Josef Albers with the de Koonings and Robert Rauschenberg, whom she later married. The inventive approach she's taken throughout her career--and to this day, as she's still in the studio making new work at 90 years old!--is awe inspiring. Her interest is in the body's movement in space and time, and she investigates through drawing, painting, and book-making, always with a tremendous sense of joy.
Zoe Avery Nelson Untitled 2019 Oil on canvas 20 × 16 inches, Courtesy of JDJ
Zoe Avery Nelson Untitled 2019 Oil on canvas 20 × 16 inches, Courtesy of JDJ