Tim and Pam Hill share their love of all types of expressive art, explaining why their primary mission is to act as esthetic educators. They also talk with Paul about the varieties of art fairs experiences available to artists.
“It has to do with the material itself, the art. And if the art speaks to us, and it comes out of the arena of American folk art, fine. If it comes out of the arena of the academic, fine art field, that’s fine too. We were probably one of the few galleries in the very, very early period that was willing to understand and integrate these things and give them an equal dialogue.”
The Hills own and operate Hill Gallery, an exhibition space focused on contemporary, 20th century, and American folk art. Tim Hill grew up in Minneapolis and attended Michigan State University, where he met Pam. After graduating Tim taught high school history and Pam taught art before they began dealing in antiques. They became interested in folk art, and by the early 1970s the pair were selling at large fairs. This lead to an interest in contemporary art, and in the early ‘80s they opened their present space, Hill Gallery, in Birmingham, Michigan. The gallery was one of the first to place folk and contemporary art together.