ABOUT THE JOHNSON ATELIER
Since 1974, the Johnson Atelier has engaged with both local and international artists to design, produce, and restore works of art. The Johnson Atelier expands the capacity of artists through immersive making and creative collaboration – creating cultural experiences to enrich communities and inspire engagement. The Atelier was founded on the principle of solving problems for creators. The design team employs innovation, investigation, and bespoke solutions to bring the artist’s vision to life.
Seward founded the Johnson Atelier Technical Institute of Sculpture to help sculptors retain control over their artwork and gain access to previously guarded production techniques. The Johnson Atelier rapidly became an incubator for the advancement of art and technology. From all over the world, artists gathered at the Johnson Atelier to collectively advance all phases of production. This gathering of artists provided a stimulating and sometimes unorthodox environment in which everyone’s artistic practice could bloom through collaboration, dialogue and discovery. In recent years, Johnson Atelier has produced works of art in partnership with Kara Walker, Martin Puryear, Adrian Villar Rojas, Tallur L.N and many other notable artists.
Located in Hamilton, New Jersey, the Johnson Atelier is easily accessible from the New York City and Philadelphia metropolitan areas by public transit and is open year-round.
About Grounds For Sculpture
Grounds For Sculpture combines art and beckoning spaces to welcome, surprise, and engage all visitors in the artist's act of invention.
Grounds For Sculpture (“GFS”) is a 42-acre sculpture park, arboretum, and museum, founded by the late Seward Johnson. Opened to the public in 1992, it has become one of the premier cultural destinations in New Jersey, welcoming and enchanting 250,000 visitors annually. Located in Hamilton, New Jersey, GFS is adjacent to the Johnson Atelier.
Featuring over 300 contemporary sculptures by renowned and emerging artists in a beckoning, ever-changing landscape, GFS combines art and nature to surprise, inspire, and engage visitors from all backgrounds in the artist’s act of invention. In addition to its permanent collection, the campus includes more than 23,000 square feet of exhibition space and 25 artist studios.
GFS’s ability to collect and exhibit artwork is central to the organization’s mission to create a space for visitors from all backgrounds to interact with and find a connection to contemporary sculpture. Programming seeks to engage visitors of all ages with the collection and exhibitions as well as offer a deeper connection to artists’ process and approach to making. Founder Seward Johnson envisioned GFS as a “public space where the broadest cross section of the public is invited to relate to sculptural arts and nature in an emotional way and encouraged to overcome any natural, habitual, or learned resistance or fear of art, for an experience that elevates the soul and heals the spirit.”
GFS has expanded the presentation of work by leading contemporary artists to be reflective and responsive to the dynamic world around us, including MacArthur Genius Joyce J. Scott, Puerto Rican ceramicist Roberto Lugo, and the first major exhibition in the United States of the Indian conceptual artist Tallur L.N. GFS is a vibrant forum that invites a diverse public to create, learn, and discover personal meaning in their interactions with art, nature, and one another. Recent institutional partnerships with The Color Network, Monument Lab, Artworks Trenton and Spiral Q have led to new collaborative models in its curatorial approach.
The Grounds For Sculpture and Johnson Atelier Merger
In May 2025, Grounds For Sculpture (GFS) and Johnson Atelier became one unified body, forming a dynamic new catalyst for the production, conservation, and exhibition of large-scale, high-caliber sculptures, and amplified art experiences. This union cements artist and founder Seward Johnson’s legacy, and his vision for Grounds For Sculpture and Johnson Atelier to work as one body.
The merger promises to usher in a new era of artistic synergy, expanding impact, recognition, and artist support on a global scale. By combining the unique strengths of both institutions, GFS is set to redefine the landscape of large-scale art experiences and community engagement, creating a dynamic platform that bridges the gap between artists and audiences while fostering innovation in contemporary art.
Rooted in Seward Johnson’s radical approach to discovery and making the arts available to all, these two institutions have given artists unprecedented access to tools for sculpture production and invited the public to engage with contemporary sculpture collections and exhibitions for half a century. Grounds For Sculpture and the Johnson Atelier have always worked side by side. The result of this union will be a singular, distinct model that realizes Seward’s vision and best positions Grounds For Sculpture as a leader in supporting a globally diverse generation of artists.
Grounds For Sculpture will assume management and operations of Johnson Atelier and its state-of-the-art modeling, scanning, milling, painting and finishing capabilities, along with its assets including the seven-acre Meadow; the physical plan that houses the Johnson Atelier; the Motor Exhibits Building, which currently houses studios for 25 artists; and 2 apartments for guest artists. The vision, purpose, and practices will all remain the same.
This unification creates an epicenter of industry-leading production and makes way for even greater relationship-building between the next generation of artists and a broader audience. Johnson Atelier will be able to more effectively cultivate relationships with artists who might exhibit at, or add to, the permanent collection of Grounds For Sculpture; and this merger better positions Grounds For Sculpture to feed Johnson Atelier’s project pipeline with artist residencies and off-campus programming that increase the artists’ — and Grounds For Sculpture’s — reach with global audiences.
What’s more, this strategic integration represents an enterprising business model: a nonprofit sculpture park operating a revenue-generating sculpture fabrication business. Grounds For Sculpture will expand its ability to produce work that can be exhibited on its own campus and facilitate the production of work for venues around the world, allowing the organization to go beyond its gates and deliver on its mission to make sculpture and public art broadly accessible.
For more information on Grounds For Sculpture and the Johnson Atelier, please visit: https://www.groundsforsculpture.org/ or https://www.johnsonatelier.com/
THE OPPORTUNITIES:
The Johnson Atelier (“the Atelier”) is hiring for two critical roles: A Managing Director who is responsible for leading and overseeing the Atelier as an artistically distinguished and financially sustainable enterprise, with day to day management and oversight of the revenue and expense sides of the business; and a Senior Director of Business Development who will represent the Atelier externally with artists, galleries, architecture and design studios, set designers for theatre, film and television/streaming, along with collectors and partners in the field, with the goal of building and sustaining relationships with clients, expanding the Atelier project pipeline, and driving earned revenue.
The Managing Director Opportunity
The Managing Director (“MD”) is a newly created role explicitly designed to address the financial and operational needs of the Johnson Atelier as it enters into its next chapter of growth and evolution.
The Managing Director of the Atelier will report directly to the Executive Director of Grounds For Sculpture (“GFS”), Gary Garrido Schneider, as part of the merger between the two organizations. The MD will also work closely with a select subcommittee of the GFS Board, which will be tasked with an oversight role in ensuring the financial sustainability of the Atelier and its strategic integration with GFS, as a wholly owned subsidiary.
This proven leader from the world of high-end artwork fabrication or a related creative industry will be responsible for strategic and business planning, implementing and overseeing sales strategies and marketing campaigns, and maintaining day-to-day oversight of Atelier's finances and business operations.
The MD’s primary areas of focus include ensuring that all business and sales functions are coordinated adequately with production areas; overseeing all marketing, branding and social media strategies; overseeing and directing policies and procedures relative to business operations and infrastructure; leading efforts for process improvements and performance enhancements across the organization and serving as a thought leader on organizational matters.
This is a unique opportunity for an executive with strong general management and strategic financial skills, along with proven sales and marketing experience, to make a profound impact on an enterprise with a rich artistic pedigree and strong commercial potential that is entering a period of growth and evolution.
Bringing a new level of financial and operational leadership to the institution, this leader will also be responsible for the strategic and tactical management of key areas, including finance, earned revenue generation, marketing, facilities and operations, information technology, and human resources. In total, the team will comprise 14 members, including the Managing Director and the Senior Director of Business Development.
In addition to serving as senior executive and as a key spokesperson for the Atelier, the MD will partner closely with the Senior Director of Business Development to build and sustain a network of critical relationships with artists, galleries, architecture firms, design studios, live and filmed entertainment concerns, museums and collectors to raise the visibility of the Atelier and ensure a growing pipeline of business.
Key responsibilities include the following:
- Provide proactive, creative, and effective leadership in revenue generation and cost management, ensuring a diverse and balanced portfolio of customer segments while adeptly managing the organization's expenses.
- Strategically position, market, and sell Atelier services across a range of markets, including the commissioning of new works; build relationships with artists, studios, collectors, galleries, architects, designers, along with presenting, cultural heritage and historic preservation organizations to identify new business opportunities.
- In conjunction with the ED/CEO and CFO/COO of Grounds For Sculpture, steward the full range of finance-related functions for the Atelier, including the annual budget, compliance, internal controls, capital financing, debt management, human resources, and related relationships with financial institutions.
- Develop a strong, effective partnership with the Executive Director and Board of Grounds For Sculpture to ensure strategic, anticipatory management and communication of the Atelier’s current and future business needs.
- Forge and implement the Atelier’s long and short-range strategic planning efforts to develop multi-year budgets, evaluate progress of Atelier activity against established goals and relevant benchmarks, and ensure plans are revised and updated as necessary to respond to market conditions.
- Bring a well-honed understanding of the economics of the art and design fabrication worlds to secure the Atelier’s competitive positioning in the market.
- Institute rigorous, best-in-class processes in budgeting and financial planning and analysis, cost management, metrics, and/or policy changes. In doing so, create greater integration and collection of data and lead a cross-departmental team in understanding how data can be used strategically to meet revenue goals.
- Optimize technology across the organization to enhance and streamline workflow and identify technological solutions to automate and/or improve project management functions.
- Frame and interpret the “big picture” for senior leadership, guiding them and their teams to participate in multi-year planning and goal-setting that achieves desired results and supports the Atelier’s strategic objectives.
- Support and enhance human capital management efforts around staffing, training, and overall organizational culture.
Position Requirements
- 5-7 years’ experience in a leadership role within an artwork fabrication and/or manufacturing environment or a similar creative industry setting.
- Proven track record of successfully driving revenue growth while managing the expense side of an organization or division.
- Depth of experience in identifying, cultivating, and securing new business.
- Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, adept at building trust and rapport with GFS Board members, Atelier team members, clients, partners, and other key stakeholders.
- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to think strategically and make data-driven decisions.
- Familiarity with CRM systems and sales performance tracking tools.
- Willingness to travel as required to meet clients.
- The MD is expected to maintain a regular in-person presence at the Atelier with a minimum of 3 days a week at the Atelier facility in Hamilton Township, NJ. A relocation package will be provided to the successful candidate if they are outside of commuting distance.
Compensation & Benefits: Managing Director Salary is competitive and commensurate with experience. The salary range for this role is $175,000-$ 200,000, accompanied by a generous benefits package.