We recently connected with Jerry Barrish and have shared our conversation below.
Jerry, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Do you have an agent or someone (or a team) that helps you secure opportunities and compensation for your creative work? How did you meet you, why did you decide to work with them, why do you think they decided to work with you?
I am so lucky to work with an amazing team of people.
I work with an artist management firm and have gallery representation.
My manager handles studio operations, supervises my body of work, PR, digital content and gallery communications. The management firm is Lion in Oil, and our manager is Andy Nelson. He has done a great job since we started working together.
I am represented by Tuleste Factory in New York. My gallery shows my work, puts me in fairs and shows. They drive and manage my sales. I am so grateful to Celeste and Satu [Greenburg sisters, founders and directors of Tuleste Factory]. Tuleste Factory has introduced my work to a whole different demographic of young, fresh eyes.
I should also mention my wife, Nancy, and family friends Alida Bray and Janice Plotkin. Nancy has been both my partner and art support for over 40 years. I don’t know what I would do without her. Alida is a dear family friend that has helped with curatorial efforts and showroom display for many years. Janice is the creative producer of the documentary [“Plastic Man: The Artful Life of Jerry Ross Barrish”], without her the documentary would never have been produced.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
How did you learn to do what you do?
That’s really an interesting question. I would say that it’s by fate.
I have a BFA and MFA from SFAI (San Francisco Art Institute.) I was making traditional sculpture when I started, but I changed my major to filmmaking. When people ask “what kind of art do you do?” I say, “I am a narrative artist.” I have always been a narrative artist, a storyteller with my art.
I live on a beach that used to be covered with trash, and in 1988 I started to pick up plastic objects to make a Christmas tree. The material really started to speak to me. All of the sudden, for some reason, I was able to connect with this material.
It’s all circumstance. I joke that if the beach in front of my house was clean, like it is today, I might have taken a different path.
First time you sold or generated revenue from creative work?
I remember this so vividly.
In 1989, an owner of a San Francisco clothing store and gallery, Faye Eisenburg, came into my studio and bought a piece titled “Alley Dance.”
I was just starting out making found object assemblage and didn’t have a big inventory. After the sale, I was really disappointed it was gone and wished I hadn’t sold it. I shared how I felt with an artist friend who said, “If you think that’s the best piece that you’ll ever make, then I can understand why you want to keep it. But, if you really believe you have a whole future ahead of you, the best thing you can do is to get your work out in the world.” This turned me around. Now I have my work photographed so I have a record and memory, and don’t have any issue parting with it.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
In your art career, what is the most meaningful project you have ever worked on?
After I had been at the San Francisco Art Institute for about 6 months, my film professor James Broughton said, “Jerry, you’ve got to make a movie.” I had met a man who raised fighting cocks, and thought that would be a good subject for a film. I did everything on this film. I shot it. I edited it. I did the special effects and titles. I hired the musicians and cut the sound track, but the only thing I didn’t do was create the music. It took me about 6 months to do it. In my entire life, I had never worked on any project that took so long to complete. The day I finished it, I went outside and danced with joy in the field next to my house. I have never felt such a sense of accomplishment as that day.
The most meaningful piece of sculpture I have ever created is called “Waiting.” It’s a woman sitting in a chair with a dead flower in her hand, waiting for the phone to ring. I made the chair, the table, the phone, the woman, all from found materials. It’s a large piece, maybe ⅝ life-size. I remember looking at the finished piece and I could hardly believe the emotion that I had captured. I realized that I had achieved something special.
Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?
I recently read “Get the Picture” by Bianca Bosker. It is a great no-BS view into today’s art scene. I highly recommend it. It helped me to update and change my language around the business of art.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://jerrybarrish.com
- Instagram: @jerryrossbarrish
