The Practice

Exophora Projects is the practice of JJ Strawn, a Los Angeles–based collections management and archival professional with more than fifteen years in the contemporary art world. JJ's experience spans artist estates, private collections, and gallery archives, including nearly seven years at BLUM (formerly Blum & Poe), where she served as Robert Colescott Estate Archivist, cataloguing, studying, and managing the estate’s extensive collection before later expanding her work across multiple artist estates and special archival projects. This work is grounded in provenance research, conservation, exhibitions, and art handling, developed through years of direct engagement with artists, estates, collections, and institutions throughout the Los Angeles art community.

JJ builds archives and documentation systems that preserve history, support access, and protect long-term value. Services range from comprehensive archive development, collection management, and legacy planning to exhibition and sales support, digital systems setup, and research projects, each tailored to the scale of a collection and the goals of its stewards. Whether working with a living artist, an estate, or a private collection, every project is approached with the same commitment to careful stewardship, rigorous documentation, and practical, long-range planning. Research is integral to every project, from provenance and artwork histories to preparing collections for publication, exhibitions, catalogues raisonnés, and valuation. JJ is pursuing art appraisal certification through the Comprehensive Appraisal Studies Program (CASP), offered by the Appraisers Association of America, as part of an ongoing expansion of her practice into professional appraisal.

The Philosophy

Exophora Projects takes its name from the field of linguistic pragmatics, which considers how context contributes to meaning in communication. Exophora describes a reference that extends beyond the immediate written or spoken text to the surrounding narrative world where situational clues may supply understanding. The concept reflects JJ’s approach to engaging with archives and collections: looking beyond objects themselves to the histories, relationships, and circumstances that shape their cultural significance and value.