ANNOUNCING
PORTRAIT
Portrait shapes how artists are understood over time.
Nathan Oliveira in his studio on 56th Street, Oakland, CA, 1957, Photograph by Harry Redl, Courtesy of Nathan Oliveira Estate
WHAT WE DO
We partner with estates, foundations, and studios to expand the understanding of an artist’s life and work.
We integrate strategy, research, scholarship, design, and public engagement into a single practice, constructing the materials, systems, and relationships that shape how an artist is understood.
Mary Ann Unger on the roof of E. 3rd Street working on Benchmarks, New York, NY, 1977, Photograph by Geoffrey Biddle
HOW WE WORK
Every artist brings a distinct history, body of work, and set of questions.
Our practice brings together four connected areas that provide a flexible structure for responding to the needs of each collaboration.
Through careful attention, study, and research, we position an artist's life and work within their social, historical, and cultural contexts, alongside a depth of ongoing strategy, advice, and guidance.
We expand and activate art and archival collections through documentation, scholarship, photography, and close collaboration, creating new primary material that broadens the field around an artist's work.
We create the visual and verbal presentation, narrative structures, and digital systems that bring clarity and consistency to how an artist is encountered.
We connect an artist's legacy with institutions, scholars, media, and the public through exhibitions, publications, communications, programming, partnerships, and digital platforms.
SELECTED WORK
Portraits
Portrait 01
Richard Diebenkorn Foundation
A long-term partnership to expand critical appreciation of the distinguished American painter, draftsman, and printmaker through a unified public presence integrating strategy, identity, communications, digital, and archives.
Richard Diebenkorn in his Stanford Studio, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA, 1963, Photograph by Leo Holub, Courtesy of Richard Diebenkorn Foundation
View PortraitRichard Diebenkorn in his Stanford Studio, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA, 1963, Photograph by Leo Holub, Courtesy of Richard Diebenkorn Foundation
Portrait 02
Hung Liu Estate
Supporting the transition from a groundbreaking Chinese-born American artist’s studio to an estate through strategy, visual and verbal presentation, archival research, object photography, and dynamic online and offline public engagement.
Hung Liu with her painting Resident Alien during an artist residency at Capp Street Project, San Francisco, CA, 1988, Photograph by Ben Blackwell, Courtesy of Hung Liu Estate
View PortraitHung Liu with her painting Resident Alien during an artist residency at Capp Street Project, San Francisco, CA, 1988, Photograph by Ben Blackwell, Courtesy of Hung Liu Estate
Portrait 03
Paul Harris Estate
Recovering a lesser known and overlooked adventurous postmodern artist through deep archival research, new scholarship, a vivid identity, institutional activities, and a comprehensive centennial initiative.
Paul Harris sewing in his studio, Bolinas, CA, c. 1964, Courtesy of Paul Harris Estate
View PortraitPaul Harris sewing in his studio, Bolinas, CA, c. 1964, Courtesy of Paul Harris Estate
Our APPROACH
Mary Ann Unger at her East Village Loft, New York, NY, 1976, Photograph by Geoffrey Biddle
An artist’s life and work cannot be understood through a single perspective.
Research, scholarship, photography, design, digital systems, and public engagement each contribute something different. Our practice brings these together into a cohesive, dynamic response that is critically rigorous and thoughtfully presented. Every engagement begins with careful attention grounded in art history, strategy, and analysis.