WE CHAT TO LOUISE FITZJOHN THE JEALOUS GALLERY MANAGER ABOUT THEIR ROOTS AND COMMITMENT TO EXPERIMENTATION AND COLLABORATION

JEALOUS GALLERY

Jealous enjoyed a wonderful xmas show to round out 2016, but throughout the year you host a variety of exhibitions, which ones have been your highlights?

2016 has been yet another incredible year for Jealous, we have collaborated with The Big Issue and Ben Eine to produce 3 limited edition covers of the magazine with large scale launches at Jealous East and 3 new screenprint editions to coincide. We have also worked alongside Charming Baker for his Sotheby’s S2 Gallery exhibition, co-publishing a suite of new handfinished print editions with Paul Stolper to mark the occasion. We hosted our second solo exhibition with Jealous Prize winner Ally McIntyre and we hosted an incredibly popular solo exhibition with Joe Webb. Alongside this we have selected our new Jealous Prize Winners and we will be launching their new editions early in the New Year.

We have participated in art fairs worldwide, launched a new edition with Gary Hume RA, which was co-published with Enitharmon Editions and launched at the Royal Academy.

2016 also saw us working with Art on a Postcard; a charity that raises money for the Hepatitis C Trust. We curated a portfolio of new editions from postcards submitted to the charity the previous year with an incredible lineup of artists such as David Shrigley, Gavin Turk and John Wragg RA, a percentage of sales goes towards The Hepatisis C Trust and the very important work they do.

Can you tell us a bit more about the origins of Jealous and how it’s evolved to where it is now?

Jealous started back in 2008 in Crouch End, with Jealous Director Dario Illari and Master Printer Matthew Rich. It was through their love of screenprinting and passion for creating beautiful works of art for artists. In 2012 the Screenprint Studio moved to the top floor of 53 Curtain Road, and in the following 2 years we slowly took over the whole building, with the opening of our second gallery, Jealous East, in September 2014.

Jealous is a gang and we all believe in what we do. We love the artists we work with and its through this that we remain unique and true to what we do. I think this is why we’ve stood the test of time and that within a few more years our plans for world domination will come to fruition….

As well as its two galleries in Crouch End and Shoreditch a crucial part of the Jealous family is the Print Studios, talk to us about how they work and what you create?

The clue is in the name…Jealous Print Studio creates prints, both high quality digital and hand pulled screenprints.

Not just limited to publishing works for the gallery, the commercial side of the Studio means artists, galleries and museums approach us to create editions for them. We work with many notable galleries, design studios and institutions including Saatchi Gallery, ICA, Whitechapel Gallery, The Fine Art Society, Crafts Council, The Royal Academy, Pentagram and Imperial War Museum.

As a Print Studio we are known to be collaborative (working closely with the artists) as well as experimental, we have worked with artists to print onto goats skin, print using mud collected from the Norfolk coastline, print using bacteria, print onto drum skins for Nick Mason (from Pink Floyd), no idea is impossible and we always strive to surprise!

Throughout the year Jealous runs a series of Open Call Outs for Artists, what’s the motivation behind running the open call outs and how do you decide which entries are the winners?

Our open submission project is called Jealous Needs You, headed by our Creative Director, Jess Wilson, we ask artists to submit a piece of work based on a specific brief, we then select a number of works which are then printed in our studios, half of the edition is then given to the artist for free. We launch the full portfolio at our galleries, then it heads over to Saatchi Gallery for a dedicated month long exhibition. This project is aimed at both established names and emerging talent, to give them a platform to showcase their work, the opportunity to turn their work into screenprints and also for us as a gallery and print studio to introduce new artists to our roster.

Jealous also gives out the Jealous Prize to lucky MA students from London each year, what was the motivation for setting up the prize and who have been this years lucky winners?

Awarded annually to a select number of MA graduates from London’s major colleges, the Jealous Prize is an all-expenses-paid residency at Jealous Print Studios, London. The full portfolio was placed into the Victoria & Albert Museum’s permanent print collection in 2013, who continue to collect the new editions produced each year. Chosen by the Director, Gallery Manager and Studio Manager, the winners work with our experienced studio team to create a limited edition screenprint or multiple which is then launched to an international audience alongside exihibitons in our two galleries.

Previous winners include Adam Dix who has also been recognised by the Future Map and Catlin Art Prize; Ann-Marie James who has since been awarded the Derek Hill Foundation Scholarship at The British School Rome, a residency at Headspace in Japan and is represented by Karsten Schubert Gallery; Charlie Billingham whose work has been exhibited at the Royal Academy and Saatchi Gallery; and Erica Donovan whose work includes a commission to transform The Artist’s Pavilion at the 55th Venice Biennale.

We will be launching our 2016/17 winners editions in a dedicated exhibition at Jealous East on 8th February 2017, and we are delighted to welcome Margaux Valengin from the Royal College of Art, Clare Price from Goldsmiths and Grizelda Kitching from Camberwell. Check our website or social media channels for more information about the opening, closer to the time.

With just hit 2017 I imagine the wheels are well in motion for this years’ program of exhibitions and events, what can you tell us about what we’ve got to look forward to and which one you’re most excited about?

As with every year at Jealous, we will make sure that this one is bigger, bolder and better! We will once again be working with well-known established artists, charities and galleries, as well as launching our Jealous Prize winners’ editions at the beginning of the year, we have a collaboration planned with The Big Issue, a pop-up with iconic street artist Toaster, and many more to be announced. To keep up to date with all things Jealous, keep an eye on our social media accounts or sign up to our newsletter on our website