By Hannah E. Jones
Jackson Fine Art, a photography gallery tucked in Buckhead, is moving — but just across the street. After 33 years at 3115 East Shadowlawn Ave., the team will officially open the doors to their new space later this month.
Jackson Fine Art specializes in 20th century and contemporary photography. The gallery is run by Co-Owner and Creative Director Anna Walker Skillman and Co-Owner Andy Heyman. The two work well as a team, they explained, with Skillman running the creative side and Heyman focused on business operations. Heyman is also the founder of ASH Investment Partners.
The team represents artists, both locally and beyond, by showcasing and selling their pieces. In doing so, they work with collectors to build, curate and sell collections. Additionally, they host up to 12 exhibitions annually and participate in international art fairs.
Newly located at 3122 East Shadowlawn Ave., the gallery is situated inside a quaint yet modern white-bricked building. The space’s small, intimate ambiance closely mirrors the atmosphere of the first gallery — an intentional decision by Skillman and Heyman.
“I think that art galleries can be intimidating,” Skillman said. “I want people to walk in, I want them to feel like they can have an experience. I don’t want it to feel cold; I want it to be warm. I want it to be approachable. I want it to be educational.”
Operations have grown significantly since the gallery’s start in 1990, with a larger collection and more staff members. The new front-of-house is comparable to the original gallery but includes more room for operations like packaging and shipping. The new space is a 4,000-square-foot, custom-built gallery that has a light, open feel and features more exhibition space, offices, inventory and meeting spaces. They even added a library.
“We’ve been here a long time, and we love it here. We love this street; we love Buckhead,” Heyman said. “We have a line internally, ‘If you’re not growing, you’re dying.’ We have a growth mindset — We think that’s good for our people, good for the community and good for the artists. We wanted to stay on the street … So, we found a lot across the street and we said, ‘Let’s own it, let’s build it and that’ll be our permanent home.’”
Due to the nature of the business, their collection is always changing. But Skillman and Heyman estimate there are “several thousand” works in their inventory and have sold “tens of thousands” in the last three decades.
In an era where images are plentiful — taken on our smartphones and posted onto Instagram without a second thought — the Jackson Fine Art crew looks at photographs differently, with intentionality.
“To throw [the photos] up on Instagram feels, to me, a little bit like a disservice,” Skillman said. “It has to be more intentional. This is their art and I want to make sure that I’m presenting it in a way that doesn’t feel like everything else. It’s a piece of art, and I just want people to experience it in real-time — in a space or a conversation, not just flipping through.”
This is a year of partnership and new beginnings at Jackson Fine Art. In addition to the move, Skillman and Heyman are also celebrating 20 years of leadership.
“We created a partnership and purchased the gallery together; it was the best decision I ever made,” Skillman said. “We’ve been together for 20 years and I couldn’t ask for a more supportive, loving, smart business partner and friend. There’s been so much growth in the gallery that I don’t think typically happens in small galleries of our size, which [is possible] with his support.”
Heyman added: “I don’t think in milestones, I think every day is a blessing. We try to do our best every day, and we look for inspiration outside of the gallery and inside of the gallery. [Skillman] is a master at creating inspiration and finding inspiration, so following her lead to be able to do that is important.”
The new gallery will debut on Friday, March 24, with inaugural exhibitions from Cooper & Gorfer, Sheila Pree Bright and Francesca Woodman. The team will also host artist talks on Saturday, March 25 at 11 a.m. Check their website for additional details.
I love shows like this! I also often arrange exhibitions, but on more modern topics and one day I needed to prepare an exhibition and attach frames of teamwork images to them and I had to find examples to recreate everything at the highest level!