Mariah Nielson (b. 1978) is a curator and design historian. As the daughter of the pioneering American artist JB Blunk, her holistic approach was influenced by growing up in the Blunk House, the home he built by hand with salvaged materials in Inverness, CA. She was a curator at the Museum of Craft and Design, San Francisco, from 2009–2011 and director of the JB Blunk Residency from 2007–2011. In 2013, she completed an MA in Design History at the Royal College of Art and the Victoria & Albert Museum, London, under the direction of Glenn Adamson.
Mariah is currently the Director of the JB Blunk Estate, preserving and researching his practice, and Director of Blunk Space, an art and design gallery dedicated to expanding Blunk’s legacy by connecting his practice to that of contemporary artists all over the world. She is the editor of the first monograph about the artist, JB Blunk, which is now in its third edition.
Recent curatorial projects include Design is a State of Mind, with Martino Gamper, Serpentine, London, 2015; Blue Jeans & Brown Clay: Artists and Designers at the Blunk House, Kate MacGarry, London, 2020; JB Blunk: Muse, Kasmin, New York, 2022; Three Landscapes: JB Blunk, Anna and Lawrence Halprin, Blum & Poe, Los Angeles, 2022; and Same Blue as the Sky, with Studio AHEAD, 2023. Recent talks include “Alma Allen and JB Blunk: In Conversation”, Palm Springs Art Museum; “Natural Instincts” at Design Miami/, presented by Birkenstock; “Managing an artist estate” at Kunst Meran, in Merano, Italy; and an interview with Dr. Bridget Harvey for the podcast Getting Making.
PO Box 22
Inverness, CA 94937
USA