I have known about Jackson Fine Art in Atlanta, and of their reputation as one of the nation's top private galleries, for years. I have casually followed who they were exhibiting in the past, but I had never seen their space. So, when I was in Atlanta last month for my opening of the Atlanta Photography Group’s 2022 Selects Exhibition, I made a point to stop by Jackson and finally see their gallery.
The gallery is a converted residence in the Buckhead shopping district neighborhood of north Atlanta. The gallery layout is a little unique, but it works well the way they designed it.
I planned my Atlanta trip last minute, so I was not able to make arrangements to visit Jackson beforehand; so, this was a complete cold call on my part. I just wanted to see their space and hopefully introduce myself to someone on the staff.
The visit exceeded my expectations, Gallery Director Coco Conroy and the staff were so nice, and Coco was gracious enough to spend half an hour showing me the current exhibition and talking about the gallery. We even were able to talk briefly about my own work and Coco was even able to introduce me to the owner, Anna Walker Skillman. I can see why Jackson has the reputation and client list that they do, everyone is professional, and their artist roster and inventory is large.
With Gallery Director Coco Conroy - Jackson Fine Art
Jackson was featuring the work of Tabitha Soren, who they represent, when I was there. Soren is a former MTV reporter and is married to Michael Lewis who authored the famous book “Money Ball”. Her prints are often individually unique. For her images from her “Relief” portfolio she damaged the print surface by causing small holes (from an airsoft gun or knife) or even burned some prints slightly to use that damage to create a finished work that better captured her feelings; the damage added an interesting element of texture to the photographs. Prints from her “Surface Tension” portfolio were also on exhibit. These large prints were made from 8”x 10” negatives where she photographed the reflective surfaces of iPads with vernacular images on the screen. She was interested in capturing the viewers fingerprints on the surface of the iPad to highlight the connection between the viewer and the electronic device. Soren’s photographs allow for a lot of viewer interpretation and for me they seemed to have lots of layers of meaning.
I would strongly recommend Jackson Fine Arts for anyone interested in purchasing photographs in the region. Jackson has a national client base and provides services to many top institutions as well as collectors. Hopefully I will have a chance to visit Jackson again soon as well as spending more time with Coco talking about photography.
Jackson Fine Art
3115 East Shadowlawn Avenue
Atlanta, GA 30305
info@jacksonfineart.com
Tel 404.233.3739
Fax 404.233.1205
Tuesday - Saturday, 10am - 5pm
