Jennifer Perlmutter - Artist, Business Leader, Inspiring Community Engagement Through Art

Owner and curator Jennifer Perlmutter Gallery and JPG@The Bank

Jennifer Perlmutter b. 1966 Born in Mountain View, CA and raised in Napa, Jennifer (Flynn) Perlmutter is the youngest of 3 siblings. Her mother and father were life-long entrepreneurs. All 3 siblings worked at different times within the family business. There was a restaurant and bar in Napa, then after the kids went to college, her parents moved to San Francisco and her mother started a data reporting business for the mortgage industry. The business was so successful that her brothers joined after graduation. Jennifer’s path did not line up with data reporting and she began to carve her own way.

Transferring from Napa College in 1987, she moved to Boston Massachusetts to attend Emerson College. Her dream of being a journalist, was quickly shot down when classes involved hair and makeup. Not being one to fuss with either, she felt right at home in the college radio station, WERS FM. Soon she was creating feature programming, announcing AP news and hosting the early morning folk music show, “Coffeehouse.” She felt at home with the artists and production engineers at the station. Upon graduation in ’89, she moved in with her boyfriend, Sean Perlmutter in New York City and started a new job at Radio Today.

With a promising start in uptown Manhattan at a radio syndication company, life in NY was settling in. But she found the sales floor and spreadsheets boring and unrelated to the production and programming she longed to create. She left Radio Today after less than a year and began production assisting in Art and scenic Departments for Film and TV. Moving to LA in 1990, she continued working in film and TV production until her final position as assistant to Director Bryan Singer on The Usual Suspects. All through post-production and final edits she realized once again, that the office was no place for her and waiting for freelance production gigs gets old very fast.

Tired of living on beans and rice and with an imminent marriage on the horizon, Perlmutter took a steady job in the Rights and Clearances Department for Universal Film. Her boss held watercolor workshops once a week in the conference room. She read magazines on wood working and high-end design. Her landlord was an interior designer and one day saw her painting in the garage. She mentioned a high-end furniture painter she knew that needed assistance. Perlmutter quit Universal and went to work in the garage of another artist. Jennifer and Sean Perlmutter married in 1996 on a hillside in Malibu around a fire pit as the sun set. A non-traditional wedding with a female officiant and a circle of guests shaking gourds to celebrate.

The Perlmutters were on their way to make a creative life; hatching plans in coffee shops on Melrose, dreaming of telling their stories, making a difference, and having an adventurous life together. Two years later, she opened her own furniture design and painting studio focused on creating high-end finishing techniques and chinoiserie for the design industry. Soon her own collection of art developed, designers and collectors bought directly, galleries followed, along with commissions for large hotel projects.

In 2000 she was presented with an opportunity to create special paint effects and finishes in South Korea for two luxury destinations. In 2002, their son Jaco was born. By the time he was entering 1st grade, they were looking for cleaner skies and a change of pace. In 2008, they moved up from LA to find a home in the Bay Area. Lafayette offered the best apartment they could afford, great schools for their 8-year-old son, and beautiful scenery. Jennifer found a painting studio for rent in Berkeley and quickly began a new series of work. Within a year, she was teaching workshops, holding open studios, and finding collectors. Perlmutter was invited to give a TEDx talk in 2010 on her approach to art and business: one brick at a time, from where ever you are, responding to what is and trusting the process. Soon the studio in Berkeley no longer worked for her; the commute, cost, and separation from Lafayette took a toll.

In the Fall of 2013, she left the Berkeley studio not knowing where she would paint next. A few weeks later, she took a chance and called a number on the window of the little brick storefront on Mt. Diablo Blvd. The property owner was open and flexible. It was the break she needed and in 2014, she opened the Jennifer Perlmutter Gallery in Lafayette, CA to bring the deep experience she has with art to another level. In 2019 she licensed an empty bank building and opened JPG@The Bank Art Gallery and Venue Space. She continued to make art while curating and showing the work of others, helping more people develop strong connections with art. Her mission is sharing compelling fine art that touches and inspires.

Jennifer Perlmutter was recognized as the 2020 Business Person of the Year for Lafayette, CA.

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Q. Best advice for women who want to go out in life and crush it!

A. Be willing to be visible. Be willing to fail. Let your excitement lead you.

Q. What do you do to celebrate women?

A. Share their art and share their stories continually. Defend them when needed and encourage them towards their truth.

Q. What do you want to see more of?

A. I'd like to see more people slowing down and more experiences for communities to connect with each other.

Q. Recommended reading:

Book: The Book of Awakening: Having the Life You Want by Being Present to the Life You Have by Mark Nepo

Movie: Anything that makes you laugh!

Q. The theme for this year's women's history month is Valiant Women of the Vote. What women's rights are you most passionate about?

Equal pay, equity issues in the work place. Call to action: Stand up for what you know you are worth. Meaningful progress begins with education and empowering women and young girls to not except less. Getting involved with a youth art show at my gallery and teaching the students about pricing their work in the marketplace. We have to begin making changes incrementally now.

Q. Shout out to another woman who has made a difference in your life and how she/they did that.

A. Lucky for me, I just thought of at least 5 women that guide me. The women that have made a difference in my life have shown me to be willing to fail and be willing to be seen. The rest is intuition and tuning in to what excites me. These women are courageous and vulnerable.

Connect with Jennifer Perlmutter online:

Monica Phillips