CONTACT

LESLIE FERRIN, DIRECTOR

Leslie Ferrin

Founder + Director
1978-present

leslie(at)ferrincontemporary.com

Leslie Ferrin is the director of Ferrin Contemporary, based in Cummington, MA. Specializing in contemporary ceramic art from 1950 to the present, she is an internationally respected curator who works to support artists and private collectors in partnership with galleries and museums worldwide. In addition to the gallery, Ferrin directs Project Art, a live/work international ceramic artist residency that hosts ongoing, short, and long-term projects. As a trusted expert and adviser to private collectors, curators, and museums, she is considered a foremost authority on contemporary ceramics, focusing on market trends, career development, and historical context, and has been lecturing throughout the United States and Europe for over forty years.

CONSULTING + COLLECTION SPECIALISTS + APPRAISERS + ART PROFESSIONALS

Our supporting professionals include specialists in consulting, exhibition production, collection services, sales, and marketing support for our represented and affiliated artists. We offer a full range of services, knowledge, and expertise to artists, collectors, and estates who are seeking to manage their collections, offer works for sale, or make gifts to institutions. 

Isabel Twanmo, 2023. Portrait by John Polak Photography

Isabel Twanmo

Communications + Media 
2021-present

Isabel has managed Communications, Marketing & Media for the Gallery since 2023, adding this role to her ever-growing repertoire since joining the Ferrin Contemporary team in 2021. Originally from Cabin John, MD, Isabel graduated with a Bachelor’s degree from Bennington College in 2018 with concentrations in music, visual arts, and neuroscience. Soon after, Isabel relocated to North Adams, MA to work in Visitor Experience at MASS MoCA and later served on the MASS MoCA Union Bargaining Committee to help her colleagues fight for a fair contract. 

In her personal work, Isabel is an artist and home cook. She uses illustration and ceramics to translate cooking tips, recipes, and food puns into prints, stickers, wearables, and serviceware. 

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Samuel J. LaPell

Shipping + Warehouse Coordinator
2023-present

Samuel J. LaPell -shipping and handling coordinator, chicken sitter, and ceramic artist – began working at Ferrin Contemporary the summer of 2023. With a BFA from the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University, Samuel strives to continue expanding his view of the contemporary ceramics community and how connections with one another create an artist. 

His work, wheel thrown and often wood fired, examines the ways in which clay can act/play as a means of understanding one’s history and expand upon one’s own place in the world. 

 

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John Polak

Photographer

John Polak boasts over 20 years experience in commercial and art photography, with a specialization in photographic images for artists, craftspeople, museums, galleries and publishers.
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Azariah Aker

Integral Art Solutions
Preparator + Fabricator

As founder and owner of IAS I am committed to applying my diverse skills and experience to your project. I have worked in the arts for over fifteen years, building expertise that will ensure high quality and successful results.

I find unique and challenging projects particularly interesting and am fortunate to count many large-scale projects in my work experience. I have managed commissions and collections with budgets up to one million. I have also organized and implemented countless gallery exhibitions and art fair presentations, including large-scale site-specific artworks.

Preparing spaces and artworks for exhibition is also very rewarding for me, specifically public projects that engage a diverse audience. I have had the pleasure of organizing and implementing four large thematic exhibitions with locations ranging from Newport NH to Charlotte NC. This varied and rich experience allows Integral Art Solutions to embrace many types of project and quickly realize efficient quality-focused outcomes.

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Peter Held

Appraiser

Peter is principal owner of Peter Held Art Appraisals & Associates, a national client-oriented full-service personal property firm specializing in modern and contemporary art and fine craft appraisals for insurance, estates, charitable gift donations, and current market valuations. In the course of his impressive three-decade career as a museum director and contemporary art curator, he has organized more than 200 exhibitions and authored numerous books and articles on contemporary art and craft.
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