Down a crumbly driveway, behind the drab tube station at Finsbury Park lurks a rather bland and industrial looking brick warehouse: one that you’d never guess houses some of the most celebrated characters in Britain’s art scene, and some of the most expensive art in the world.
John Jones is a framing company, but it’s certainly not your average local shop front framer. Its clients include galleries like the Tate and National Portrait Gallery, photographers like Mario Testino, designers like Ralph Lauren, the art collections of big banks like Barclays, DB and HSBC, and the esteemed Sainsbury’s collection. And with a range of work that goes extends to Kofi Anan’s letter to Bono for MTV and David Beckham’s football memorabilia, John Jones is at the top of the framing game.
In fact, the framers are so in demand you can’t even get in the doors without an appointment to see one of their consultants, who are booked out weeks in advance. And most of the frames – all of which are bespoke and experiment with material, shape and design – could be considered works of art in themselves.
Fortunately being in such demand didn’t prevent them from agreeing to a visit from Arts Hub. On a dreary afternoon, I’m let in before I even buzz the intercom, and find an art student at the reception desk, enquiring about the cost of framing. The receptionist politely makes it clear that the prices are not cheap: they begin in the hundreds of pounds and run much higher, depending on materials and sizes. She hands him a £1,600 frame prepared for another client, already bubble-wrapped and ready for pick up. When the student doesn’t flinch, he is squeezed in for an appointment the following week.
I’m greeted by Kate Jones, and we join her husband Matt upstairs to begin a tour of the enormous 38,000 square foot workshops. John Jones is still a family run business, and was started by Matt’s father, John, in the 1960s. John was originally a driver for the Evening Standard, but his brother was involved in the art scene, and dabbled in making picture frames. John joined him and quickly discovered that he had an aptitude for making high-quality picture frames to order, and it was not long before he was working closely with artists such as Francis Bacon and David Hockney to design frames specifically to complement their work. The rest, as they say, is history.
Kate and Matt have a passion for the family business, and a relatively new found addiction to collecting art. We chat as they show me around the open-plan gallery that forms part of the mezzanine waiting room. The collection houses the few pieces they have purchased. Although their business is art, “it was a big step to invest in a piece of abstract art,” says Kate, as she shows me a giant three dimensional Pucci-inspired Danny Rolph painted on plastic.
There is, however, more than just Kate and Matt’s art on the walls. There is, for instance, an original – probably now priceless – Banksy, with Diana’s face printed on “Banksy of England” £10 notes, which is lying on a desk, waiting to be re-framed in Perspex. Nearby some 15th century etchings are being mounted. In addition to their normal workload, last month they staggered the framing of around 450 photographs for the Tate Britain exhibition, How We Are: Photographing Britain. Some of the artwork that comes through the doors is so valuable it needs to get in and out in the same day. And some is so large that the frames are only part-made and sent out with craftsmen to be assembled on-site.
Typically, a frame has two main purposes: to display (and hopefully enhance) a work, and to preserve it. The early frames of the Renaissance evolved from ornate medieval altarpieces. But the relationship between framing and art is surprisingly complex – drawing upon advances in technology as well as craftsmanship and design. The development of framing has contributed to the development of art – before plate glass was available for frames most watercolours never left the folios or albums they were kept in – and many artists have paid serious attention to frame design. For instance Degas famously worked with Cluzel, his framemaker, on designing frames for his own paintings. Whole books are written on the subject.
The growing John Jones gallery also houses some of the artwork they have received in exchange for framing. It’s not something they do often, but young artists they like will sometimes be offered framing of a set in exchange one of the pieces, or may be fortunate enough not to have to pay at all until the work has sold. It’s a give and take that works both ways and goes back to the early days of his father’s company. As Matt says, “I think it was a Francis Bacon that funded this mezzanine extension”.
Also on display are the winners of the Zoo Art Fair “Art on Paper Award” of which John Jones is a proud sponsor. There are some fantastic David Lock disjointed faces from his Misfits series, which the company re-framed. “The original frame felt heavy and contained,” Kate says, so they advised him on alternatives.
Their commitment to supporting young artists doesn’t end at sponsored prizes and free framing advice. They are equally generous with all the clients and art world connections they’ve built up, suggesting alliances and offering introductions. The decorative work they originally did for Ralph Lauren stores has now developed into a more artistic realm thanks to introductions they made to other clients and artists. Larger clients are also offered advice for housing a collection and ensuring it’s up-to-date.
Putting the glamour of the art world aside for one moment, this is a serious business. As we walk through the massive workshop rooms, there are no pretensions: it’s dirty, hard work. Many of the craftsmen are artists themselves, or highly specialised tradesmen. Kate talks excitedly about the staff show they hold annually. This month they are also turning themselves into a massive gallery in the wilds of Finsbury Park, hosting an exhibition in the huge space that used to be their art shop (the proliferation of cheap products on the internet meant it had to close). Curated by Ben Judd and Howard Dyke The Juddykes Group Show involves a collective of artists, poets, architects, filmmakers and designers who believe “the ultimate aim of all creative activity is an idea”.
What comes across is the passion for art, and the desire to make the artwork shine. “We try to make the frame blend in, or be a feature,” Kate says. While the artworks themselves are not in the messier environments, every craftsman we speak to knows whose frame he or she is working on, and which piece of art, or show it’s for.
While Kate and Matt are clearly keen to take John Jones to the next level, they stick firmly to the underlying principles that have given John Jones its name and reputation: craftsmanship, detail, design and creativity. This includes dedication to a meticulous four stage sanding process for wooden frames, creating their own materials and experimenting, and never saying no.
Kate takes me to the Artist’s Surfaces shop across the carpark, where she explains that the company are working on new lightweight aluminium canvas stretchers that can be dismantled and reassembled, unlike traditional wooden ones. Giving another example, she says that on a visit to the studio of artist Paula Rego to drop off a framed work, Paula struggled to lift the heavy panels she was working on, so they’ve developed new lighter “paper panels”. “Anything is possible with research and development, testing and finding new ways of doing things,” says Kate, highlighting the creativity and lateral thinking that has made them the art world’s framers of choice.
They work with metal and plastics as well as the more traditional gesso work and John Jones has developed its own patinated aluminium. There’s a dry-mounting room with massive photographs being put on boards and a whole room dedicated to gilding, with three gilders hard at work on a series of hand carved frames. Kate is at pains to point out that the timber they use is sustainable, and they are moving to replace the old oil based paints in favour of more environmentally friendly products.
Back in the main workshops it is a frenzy of activity: room after room, each dedicated to a different stage in the framing process. Giant roller doors open for raw timber to come inside and get cut down into frames. The man in charge of this process has such stringent standards Kate says he usually only accepts a minority of the wood that’s delivered. They also have the machinery to make their own cutters, to produce original frame mouldings, so that bespoke takes on its true meaning – an artist, collector or curator can come to John Jones with any idea – and they will attempt to make it work.
Of course, it isn’t always that extreme: like anything in life there are fashions in framing, and the staff at John Jones will suggest options. “It’s about framing solutions,” says Kate, “we want to make the artwork a completed object.” But if there is one iconic John Jones frame, Kate thinks it would be a David Hockney twisted angular gilded frame from the 1980s.
More importantly, “Nothing is impossible,” Kate says, “All our frames are museum standard, and protection of the work is paramount.” Conservation is taken very seriously, as is the integrity of the work and its match with its new home. And for any artist with real ambition, this is primary.
Editor’s note: The Juddykes Group Show runs from 1-30 June 2007, Wednesday to Fridays only, at The Old Art Shop, John Jones, 4 Morris Place, London N4 3JG.
