Sitting
on a bean-shaped leather couch in the back room of the R. Roberts
Gallery in
Jacksonville’s historic Avondale, gallery owner Jennifer Jones explained
her
interpretation of artist Mackenzie Thorpe’s painting “The Road of Love
is a
Long One,” hanging on a nearby wall.
“This
piece
features a beautiful heart being pulled by the every child through what
could be perceived as a barren life journey, but also could be perceived
as
peace and solidarity,” said Jones, who graduated from the University of
North
Florida in 1999 with a bachelor’s degree in art history and literature.
“The
moon represents the hope and grace shining down on us as we carry
everything we
love through our journey ‑ and it’s not heavy; it’s very large but very
buoyant
because we are so loved.”
Perhaps
those
words could describe Jones’ own life journey, which has taken the
34-year-old entrepreneur from being a naïve college student unsure of
her
future path to a confident, passionate business owner, mother, wife,
philanthropist and a recipient of UNF’s 2010 Outstanding Alumni Award.
In
the
‘90s as a UNF student “on the five-year plan,” Jones contemplated
earning a
degree in business, then education, but “kept hitting a wall of some
kind” and
had trouble finding her passion. It wasn’t until she enrolled in a
required Art
Survey class taught by UNF Art and Design Professor Debra Murphy that
Jones
finally was inspired to follow her love of art history and create a
career in
the arts.
“I
was completely captivated by Dr. Murphy, who was clearly passionate
about what
she was teaching us,” Jones said. “Her passion is sharing art history
with her
students, including all of its periods and phases and renaissances and
cultures,
and I really sensed that she could talk about the Byzantine period 500
times
and never tire of it. It fed her soul – and I realized that I could see
myself
in her shoes.”
Along
the path, Jones stumbled upon R. Roberts Gallery on St. Johns Avenue.
She met
Richard Roberts, the gallery’s former owner, when she was on her way to
meet
friends at a jazz club across the street from the gallery. Roberts
needed a
salesperson and she, with a year left until graduation, needed
experience. She
said the match was “like peanut butter and jelly.”
Jones
worked
at the gallery from 1998 to 2000, took an 18-month hiatus to move to
Raleigh, N.C., to work for the fifth-grossing gallery in the country, a
valuable experience she described as “art consultant boot camp.” When
Roberts offered her the position
of director of the gallery (and dangled a carrot that she’d transition
to
owner/president), she returned and began grooming herself for ownership
over
the next seven years.
Now
two-plus years into ownership, Jones is grateful the gallery has
survived the
economic recession at a time when 22 other local galleries have gone
under.
Jones attributes this success to a core group of dedicated clients who
continue
to buy artwork and to the gallery’s diverse calendar exhibiting a
balanced mix
of artwork from world-renowned masters like Picasso, Renoir and Manet to
international artists like Mackenzie Thorpe and Peter Max, to well-known
and
emerging artists like Overstreet Ducasse, Franklin Matthews and Tony
Rodriguez.
“It’s
really lovely to be able to bring in clients who are interested in
seeing a
Renoir and expose them to someone like Overstreet Ducasse, an amazing
Haitian
artist whose work is very intellectual, creative and politically
charged,” she
said. “I love it.”
A
big part of what Jones does now is exercise her “givers’ gain”
philosophy,
giving back to the community by selling artwork to raise funds for
numerous
local non-profits groups – and also for UNF.
“Anytime
we
have an opportunity to give a percentage of proceeds, we do,” Jones
said.
“It’s not only an opportunity for us to give back and enhance the
community,
but it’s also a wonderful way for us to meet wonderful people, and
frankly,
it’s an important way for us to have our true selves be known to a
potential
buying public.”
As
a member of the Thomas G. Carpenter Library’s Dean’s Leadership Council,
Jones
helped pioneer UNF’s “Art in the Library” project, securing donations of
Jacksonville artists’ work to permanently display on the Library’s
walls.
“Jen
helped the Library realize the installation of more than 30 works of
fine art
recently gifted to the Library by the family of the late Dr.
John
R. Ibach Jr., known for his love of
art and jazz,” said Dr. Shirley Hallblade, director of the Carpenter
Library.
“The Library’s third floor is now enhanced by this gallery of wonderful
art
that students will forever enjoy and learn from.”
It
was
primarily through her work on the council and her fund-raising efforts
that
Jones received the Outstanding Alumni Award in February.
“All
of
the things I learned at UNF in my literature, art history, business and
education courses prepared me for where I am today, so it’s really great
that
UNF continues to support me today,” Jones said. “I’m so humbled and
proud to be
among people who really care about UNF and strive to make a difference.
It
feels good to be honored doing something you love.”
