Whether you’re a publisher seeking to bring specialized books to a wider audience, an artist or gallery in need of a compelling exhibition text, or an NGO executive wanting to improve your live presentation, I can help.
My Background
My own background bridges the gap between academia and the public. After finishing a PhD in German literature at Cornell University, I left academia and spent six years in sales and marketing in the wine industry. At the university, I sought to make intellectualism relevant to the public today, not only for example publishing papers on eighteenth-century German philosophy but also designing and teaching a course to undergrads on the social significance of team sports. In marketing and sales on the other hand, I often took an educational stance, appreciating an audience’s desire to learn. I’ve sold wine to rural Pennsylvanians, sommeliers at Michelin-starred restaurants in New York City, and hip restauranteurs in Berlin, realizing my talent for reading an audience and speaking to them in their own language and idiom.
I’ve learned that effectively marketing complex products doesn’t mean dumbing them down for an audience. It starts instead with knowing your audience and respecting their intelligence, the first step in making the product relevant to their values, interests and modes of expression.
My Work
My past work includes promotional writing for major artists and musicians, including luminaries of contemporary art such as Jon Rafman and Ad Minoliti, as well as artist biographies and curatorial texts. For me, writing lucidly about complex work means attempting to understand it, drawing heavily on my own educational background, curiosity, and critical skills. But most importantly, it begins with listening, creating an open space for creators to talk about their projects in their own language. Interviewing has also been central to my work in live contexts, such as moderating a talk with the artist Yonamine at Michael Janssen Gallery in Berlin. I take real pleasure in front of an audience or a camera, with extensive experience dating back to my careers in academia and the wine industry, whether teaching cultural theory to Ivy League college students or conducting a four-hour presentation on champagne to a large audience in German.
