Becca Pelly-Fry. Courtesy Griffin Gallery, London
Becca Pelly-Fry is the director and curator of Griffin Gallery in West London, located in the same building as its parent organisation ColArt International, the company for world renowned art materials brands including Winsor & Newton, Liquitex and Conté à Paris. Since her appointment in 2013, Pelly-Fry has increased Griffin Gallery’s focus on ‘materiality in contemporary art’ and create a space for dialogues through innovative exhibitions and events. In our interview, Pelly-Fry talks about her vision and the gallery’s ongoing commitment to support local, national and international emerging talent.
MKOS: Can you tell us more about the history and mandate of the gallery and how it operates? Is this really the case that Griffin Gallery is that part of ColArt International, a global organisation for art materials, and runs as a privately funded not-for-profit space?
Becca Pelly-Fry [BPF]: Yes, that’s exactly right. The gallery was established in 2012, with the overarching aim of creating a space for display and discussion of contemporary art, a space for artists and ColArt employees to gather. When I took on the Directorship in early 2013, we spent the first few months establishing a five year strategy and a vision for the gallery. At that point we realised that what was going to set us apart from all other gallery spaces in London was our strong connection to the art materials industry – we therefore decided to focus (mainly) on emerging artists with an interest and engagement with materials, and aim to put ourselves at the centre of an ongoing dialogue about materiality in contemporary art.
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