You might think that the world of finance and the world of abstract art would have as much in common as cheese and chalk. But Jessie Tristan Read, owner of the new Jessie Tristan Read Art Gallery at 8012 Germantown Ave., has been an avatar of both, proving that they can coexist.

Read opened the gallery three months ago in the location that formerly housed “It's a Stitch,” an upholstery shop operated by owner Bruce Levin for more than 50 years. The artist has lined the walls with abstract pieces that explode with bright colors, from Read’s striped pieces that are works on paper to her  “Foiled Series” which showcases a combination of techniques while adding metallic foil to the work. Her pieces have been collected by the co-general manager of the Phillies, Sam Fuld, and his wife Sarah, fashion entrepreneur (formerly of Halston and QVC) Cameron Silver, and admiring clients in Chestnut Hill, Rittenhouse Square and Gladwyne.

“I was painting out of my Chestnut Hill home of 17 years, but I needed another location,” Read told the Local last week. 

Read, who grew up in Long Island, aspired to be an artist since childhood and studied art at the University of Vermont, where she also taught art to children. After graduation, she went to live in New York, where she worked at a “real job” in the world of finance for 20 years, starting at BT Alex Brown and Dreyfus in New York City and then Lehman Brothers and Credit Suisse in Philadelphia. 

“I loved it, but I decided to take a big risk and go back to my real love, which is art, in the spring of 2016,” Read said. “My roommate said, 'You're crazy.' I even thought about using the barter system. I'd trade a painting for heat, for example.”

Read moved to Plymouth Meeting 20 years ago after marrying a Chestnut Hill native. She is now divorced and has lived the last 17 years in Chestnut Hill – where Kassem Amoudi, Woodmere art museum's award-winning painter, has been her teacher and mentor.

The new gallery owner, whose favorite artists are Basquiat, Joni Mitchell and Picasso, turned from painting representational art toward abstract during Covid. It’s work that she finds herself bringing into the home of potential clients “to see if they work.”

“You have to try it out, especially with abstract art,” Read said. “I have a young friend, 24, who said she doesn't understand abstract art, but she changed her mind after seeing some of my pieces. She said she really liked two particular pieces and could not choose between them. That was my biggest compliment of the year.”

Still, Read said, abstract art is not for everyone. 

“I think about rejection all the time,” she said. “I am going to try to prove people wrong. If I have just one person stand in front of a painting and look at it, then I feel I must have done something right.”

Read works primarily on canvas using variations of dry media and acrylic paints. She recently released a series of new paintings entitled “Numbers” inspired by the metamorphosis of flowers, creating a playful balance of beauty and intrigue. It’s an abstract collection of works crafted with acrylic, pastel, gold foil and charcoal on archival paper. 

She is also partnering with the local teen-founded nonprofit, Bored No More, and will donate a percentage of her sales to help support the nonprofit by providing fun activity bags to children during extended hospital stays. Read also teaches an art class to children on Thursday afternoons at her gallery, incorporating everyday items such as pine cones and recycled materials to create their own works of art.

“Lately I've been delving into the world of resin, making resin bowls, coasters and trays,” said Read, who has exhibited her works at the Moody Jones Gallery in Glenside, “I paint over a layer of resin. I work out of here (the gallery) with paint on the floor and a drop cloth. I'm here almost every day painting.”

And she’s always happy, she says, for people to “stop in and ask questions.”

“I'm not a fantastic marketer,” she said. “But I love this space, and I love Chestnut Hill. My kids love it, too. It has always been special for me.”

For more information, visit JessieReadArt.com. Len Lear can be reached at lenlear@chestnuthilllocal.com