JILL HOFFMAN-KOWAL
Jill Hoffman-Kowal is a multidisciplinary artist, educator, and cultural documentarian whose career spans over four decades at the intersection of fine art, music, and media. Based in Sarasota, Florida, with deep roots in New York and California’s underground scenes, Jill is best known as the co-founder and program director of Target Video, a pioneering video collective, Founded by her partner, Joe Rees, that documented the raw energy of the punk rock movement. Their footage of iconic acts such as Iggy Pop, Devo, the Ramones, Talking Heads, The Cramps at Napa State Mental Hospital and the Dead Kennedys remains an important visual archive of the era’s cultural rebellion. In addition to her archival work, she continues to nurture creativity through her long-standing role as an exhibiting artist in Sarasota
She is currently married to sculptor Dennis Kowal.
With a BFA from California College of the Arts and a history of leadership in arts education, including serving as Director of Education at Art Center Sarasota, Jill has played a key role in shaping accessible art programming for both youth and adults. Her teaching focuses on unlocking imagination through texture, materials, and abstraction. Outside the studio, Jill hosted for 8 years, the Spirit of Punk, a biweekly radio show celebrating underground music and its cultural roots. Her dynamic career reflects a lifelong commitment to creativity, community, and championing alternative voices through both visual and sonic mediums.
• California College of the Arts- B.F.A.
• Petticoat Painters
• WSLR 96.5 LPFM
What do you attribute your success to?
Motivation and support from family, partners, gallery owners and collectors
What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
Don't give up... trust and believe in your work. Develop a good signature and document your work
What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Learn the business of being an artist. Refine your signature and dont copy others work unless its a homage. Find your own style, language and relationship with ypur materials. Find a good framer who will enhance your work, not take attention away from the work.
What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
Competition with pre~fabricated cheap art from stores.. Affording good framing and photographer, and possibly a good specialist in making quality prints of your work
What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Individualality