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Aimee Wise

Collection Manager

awise@thejohnsoncollection.org

As Collection Manager, Aimee oversees the physical wellbeing of over 1,400 individual objects. Whether examining them for a condition report, packing them for a loan, organizing them in storage, or installing them for an exhibition, her goal is maintaining the care of these important works of art. Her lifelong experience with many types of art and media, as well as her BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, contribute immensely to her role at TJC, which has evolved over her 12 years with the Collection.

Born and raised in Spartanburg, Aimee and her husband live here with their young son and rescue dog, where they are both active in the arts.

Favorite Piece from the Collection

I am drawn to so many different fields of art—from paintings to installations, detailed illustrations to expressive abstracts, color fields to black and white—but I am very fond of small “precious” things and collect a variety of items like a magpie hoarding treasure. This simple still life of a shining golden apple has long been a favorite painting in the collection. Apples are reminiscent of fall, my favorite season, and the shining silver knife acts as a mirror to the radiant fruit beside it. The frame, not pictured in our web photo, is hand-carved and very detailed, with branching leaves and original character. The combination of the simplistic scene and the custom frame around it make this a very special, coveted apple in my eyes.