Finders Keepers with Mariah Nielson

FINDERS KEEPERS | MASTERS & MUSES | CABANA MAGAZINE

Mariah Nielson, curator, design historian, and daughter of the pioneering American artist, JB Blunk, shares her ‘finders keepers’: the artists and designers she discovered for her gallery, Blunk Space, and the handmade heirloom bracelet she inherited from her mother.

INTERVIEW BY MILA WOLPERT | MASTERS & MUSES | 25 JULY 2024 

The hand-carved cypress sink in the Blunk House bathroom © Leslie Williamson

As Director of the JB Blunk Estate, Mariah preserves and researches her father’s practice, situated mainly around the Blunk House, the home JB Blunk built with salvaged materials in Inverness, California. Mariah – who was raised around her father’s 'maker lifestyle' in the densely layered house recognized as his masterpiece – is director of Blunk Space, a gallery that furthers her father’s legacy. The first retrospective exhibition in Europe of JB Blunk’s work opened last month at the Fondation d’entreprise Martell in Cognac, France, and is on view until December.

My greatest find: The artists and designers of Blunk Space

"I feel like my greatest find is all of the artists and designers whose work I’m exhibiting at Blunk Space, my gallery in Point Reyes Station, a small town in Northern California. All of our shows are the result of quite a lot of sleuthing, researching, traveling and connecting with the artists and designers in our extended (and extending) networks.

"I believe in all these works, enjoy sharing them with the world, and want other people to collect and live with them. Every living artist and designer who we exhibit is invited to spend time at the Blunk House and work in JB’s studio. That’s a really important part of the program. We’ve had artists come from all over the world: Japan, Italy, Germany, Mexico, and a lot from the US as well.

"It’s not an artist residency, but we host the artists and designers, and want to nurture their connection to the place and to JB’s work. That kind of creative dialogue, legacy, and influence is what I’m really interested in exploring in our programming. That’s why all of the works from the program at Blunk Space are my greatest finds.”

The Blunk Bangle made by JB Blunk for the writer, Jacqueline Johnson. 

The piece I’ll keep forever: The Blunk Bangle made by my father

“This bangle is an heirloom that my mother gave to me recently. My father made it for the writer Jacqueline Johnson, who was the wife of Gordon Onslow Ford, the British Surrealist painter. Gordon and Jacqueline gifted my father and his first wife Nancy an acre of land in Inverness, California, on which they built the Blunk House, from 1959 to 1962, using all salvaged materials. It’s thanks to Gordon and Jacqueline that my father was able to build the Blunk House, and then focus on his art career in the way that he had aspired to for years.

“This bracelet was a commission – Gordon reached out to my father in 1965, and asked him to make a bracelet for Jacqueline as a birthday present. My father made the piece out of 24-karat solid gold. It has this beautiful charm with an unusual shape that’s almost like the sun, but also references jewelry I’ve seen in a museum in Oaxaca, Mexico. The charm adds a dynamic, kinetic detail and some flare to this really solid, classic gold band. The bracelet has an ancient feel to it; it’s such an elegant piece.

“Jacqueline wore it for her entire life, and later gave it to my mother. As my mother gets older, she wears less and less of the jewelry that my father made for her, and recently she gave the bracelet to me. Although I was never able to meet Jacqueline, since she passed away before I was born, I carry on some of her energy when I wear her bangle. The bracelet is a connection to Gordon and Jacqueline in a way. It's deeply loved and is now an integral part of my being and style.”

JB Blunk carving 'Santa Cruz', 1968 © Geoffrey Fulton; Courtesy JB Blunk Estate