Biography
Jennifer Nash Kochevar was surrounded by beauty and art from an early age. Her mother is an accomplished artist and her maternal great-aunt, a famed photographer. Both of her parents earned art history degrees. Meanwhile, Jen’s passion for entrepreneurship comes in part from her father, a banking executive now retired, and her paternal great-grandfather, co-founder of Nash Finch Company (now Spartan Nash).
Jennifer’s great-grandfather also co-founded “The Helping Hands Society” in 1922, renamed The Nash Foundation in 1931. To this day, it remains the oldest family foundation in the greater Minneapolis/St. Paul area. Jen was elected the first woman President in its history, serving in that role until term limits were reached. Under her leadership the board redesigned and passed a new asset management strategy, revamped and streamlined the grant application process, and implemented an on-line grant tracking and administrative platform. As a grant committee member and chairperson, Jennifer reviewed hundreds of grant applications over 10 years. The most fulfilling part of the granting process was our site visits, which offered her the opportunity to see first-hand the commitment and dedication of the grantee and the contribution they made to the greater community.
As the Founder and President of JNK Art Partners, Inc., Jennifer blends her creativity and passion with her business acuity to support artists with 'The Business of Art" and to bring their works into the world more fully. In addition to visioning and business planning, Jen offers her clients an array of services including stewardship of key relationships, artwork placement, executive coaching, and brand awareness, business viability, and legacy planning.
Jennifer thrives on co-creating opportunities to connect the artists who create masterful works of art with patrons who appreciate and collect them. Artist patrons include Kings and Queens, Dukes and Duchesses, Prince and Princesses, Presidents and CEOs, Wealth Managers, Lawyers, Judges, Architects, Relators, Interior Designers, Teachers, and Artists. Public commissions are held at Museums, Hospitals, US Senate Offices, Universities, Corporate Offices, and many more. Solo and Group Exhibitions include museums such as The Accademia delle Arti del Disegno (Florence, Italy) and European Museum of Modern Art / MEAM (Barcelona, Spain), along with The Florence Academy of Art (Florence, Italy), The Salmagundi Club (New York City, NY) Orchestra Hall (Minneapolis, MN), The Minneapolis Club (Minneapolis, MN) , and the Horst Rechalbacher's Estate (Osceolo, WI). Artworks have been accepted into local, national, and international juried exhibitions and have traveled across the world.
Jennifer currently represents Master Artists Mary Pettis, Daniel Graves, Kami Mendlik, James Shoop, K. Libbey Nash, and Andy Sjodin. She is a board member of The Florence Academy of Art and Chair of the Development Committee, voting member of The Nash Foundation, and an advisor to the President of The Cedarwoods Foundation. She lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota with her two sons, Jack and Sam.