Jan Peters, Prominent Figure in Contemporary Craft Art, Dies at 64

Jan Peters, a prominent figure in the American craft movement, passed away December 5th in Los Angeles after a twelve-year battle with cancer. She was 64.
Peters and business partner Ray Leier established del Mano Gallery in January, 1973 in Pasadena, California to represent artists exploring the creative potential of traditional craft media, including wood, glass, ceramic, fiber and metal. Their business and the craft field both expanded over the decades.
Now based in West Los Angeles, del Mano Gallery is one of the oldest and most influential fine craft galleries in the world, exhibiting work by an international array of artists and placing studio craft objects with leading collectors and museums. For many years, the del Mano Gallery was located on San Vicente Blvd. in Brentwood.
“It was hippie artists selling crafts in those days,†Peters said of the gallery’s humble origins in a 2005 interview. “In the early 1970s, artists were taking it upon themselves to be out there selling their work. It wasn’t pretending to be high art. It was about connecting on an emotional level. It was the antithesis of the Fifties and Sixties, which was all about mass production and plastics. The Craft Movement was the counter-swing, the response to that.â€
As an early champion of contemporary art in craft media, the gallery exhibited the work of many artists long before they became internationally known: furniture maker Sam Maloof, glass artist Dale Chihuly, fiber artist Kay Sekimachi and her late husband, turned-wood artist Bob Stocksdale, the late ceramist Ralph Bacerra, and others.
As a staunch advocate of studio craft and its place alongside the so-called “fine arts†in museums and art fairs, Peters’ dedication and commitment helped to educate the public and break down barriers that brought contemporary fine craft respect and credibility.
“Jan has been an inexhaustible advocate for American artists and the international art community,†commented renowned wood sculptor William Hunter, whose multi-museum retrospective exhibition in 2006 featured many of the works Peters’ had placed with collectors. “There was no one quite like her,†said Hunter. “Jan had energy, enthusiasm, dry humor, honesty, intelligence and a ‘can-do’ spirit.â€
In 1992 Peters was the recipient of the “Medallion Award†from the Boys Clubs of America. In 2001, she and Ray Leier jointly received the “Lifetime Achievement Award†from the non-profit organization Collectors of Wood Art.
Friends and associates point out that the same qualities making her a great art dealer—high standards, vision, and perseverance—enabled her to valiantly fight a twelve-year battle with ovarian cancer, serving on the Patient Advisory Board at the Samuel Oschin Cancer Center at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center while continuing to be positive and focused on her work.
Born Janet Schwartz on April 5, 1947, she was a 1965 graduate of Fairfax High School in Los Angeles and attended UCLA before deciding to pursue a career as a bead jewelry artist before founding del Mano Gallery with Ray Leier.
She married photographer, illustrator and aviator, David Peters in 1982. Along with him, she developed a passion for vintage aircraft, approaching the world of flying with her usual fearlessness and enthusiasm. Jan is survived by David, her husband of thirty years and her sister, Dale Carolyn Gluckman of Los Angeles, as well as two nieces, a nephew, and many cousins.
The family requests that in lieu of flowers, donations be made in Jan’s memory to CERF+, P.O. Box 838, Montpelier, VT 05601; phone: (802) 229-2306 or www.craftemergency.org. When reviewing your donation on-line, please note it is in memory of Jan Peters.