TEW Galleries Staff 

Timothy Tew, President

Photo by Bard Wrisley

Timothy Tew is a Texas native who has lived in Georgia since age two.   He grew up playing the piano and while in high school, his interest in art and French was aroused. From then on, he "was hooked on paintings and Paris".  After graduation, Timothy was granted a scholarship to study piano at Shorter College in Rome, Georgia.  His professor was Elizabeth Buday, a Hungarian immigrant who impressed him with her style and culture.  Her husband, an amateur artist, also had a profound effect upon Timothy's understanding of artistic personalities and his developing interest in art and foreign places.  

Timothy graduated with a B.A. in Music in 1981.  He quickly realized however, that his love of paintings and beautiful interiors was leading him in another direction.   He enrolled in the Art Institute of Atlanta, and in 1982, received a Certificate in Interior Decoration and Design.  After working for several years in the home furnishings industry, he was frustrated by the lack of art and culture in his life and decided to leave for France to follow his passion.

At the age of twenty-seven Timothy arrived in Paris, and, for the next year, studied French, Art History, and Drawing while also spending as much time as possible in the museums developing his personal understanding of art.  While in Paris, he lived in an amazing apartment in Montparnasse with an eccentric elderly woman who had traveled the world.  They developed a strong bond of friendship as she, in her very idiosyncratic way, helped him refine his language skills and made him aware of the rigors of French culture.

During his sojourn in Paris Timothy was introduced to several artists whom he befriended.  The desire to help them develop a market for their work became the foundation of his future business.   In 1987 he returned to Atlanta where he began to promote the artists and establish a clientele.  The rest of the story is the evolving history of the gallery. 

 

Jules Bekker, Director   

Jules Bekker was born in Durban, South Africa. She grew up in Kloof, a suburb situated in the cool hills above the coastal belt, and on her parent's cattle ranch near Kranskop. Bekker received her Bachelors of Fine Art in Art History and Painting from what is now the Natal College of Arts and Technology. After graduating she returned to college for another three years to study Commercial Photography.

In 1990 Jules joined the Lowe Gallery in Atlanta and became Gallery Director later that year. In late 1992 she joined a small publishing company as Publications Director. She later transitioned into magazine publishing and worked her way through the ranks, beginning in the Circulation Department in early 1995, was named Creative Director in 1997 and in 2000 became Vice President in charge of Circulation, Creative and Production. In 2001 she was promoted to Vice President / Publisher. In 2003 the company was sold to HPC Corporation in Chicago and re-incorporated as Bayview Publishing. Bekker continued working in the capacity of Executive Editor / Publisher until the operation was relocated to Wisconsin in late 2004.

She joined TEW Galleries, in April 2005 as Gallery Director. Here she oversees day-to-day gallery business, writes, edits, and produces the print and on-line magazine, purchases advertising, oversees design, works with public relations personnel and artists on promotional materials and is actively involved in sales and market development.

Corky Davis, Sales Director  

Corky Davis was born in San Antonio, Texas in 1957.  He received his BS in microbiology and animal science from the University of Texas and his BSN in nursing from the University of Texas Health Science Center of San Antonio, Texas.  He moved to Atlanta in 1986 and began his career in nursing.  A long-standing love of art and the establishment of his own art collection brought him to the gallery world and to TEW Galleries, where he has been a sales associate since 1998.  In addition, his job entails working closely with the artists to arrange the selection of pieces for each show, the hanging of each show and maintaining the gallery's close relationship with clients by finding specific works for them or pairing them with artists.  Corky enjoys travel and often combines this with his work.  He has spent time with the artists in their studios in London, Paris, New York and Santa Fe critiquing and selecting art for of their shows.