Wendy Snyder and Sam Glankoff

For four years, Wendy Snyder worked closely with Sam Glankoff, studying his print-painting method, recording their conversations, and filming him (Rearranging Short Dreams) in his small one-room apartment-studio on East 33rd Street in New York . Ultimately, and with his reticent permission, Snyder curated Glankoff's first solo exhibition at the prestigious Graham Gallery when the artist was 87 years of age. From October 1981 until his death in April 1982, Sam Glankoff surprised her by altering his signature SG imprint, adding the "W" for "Wendy".

Each one of Glankoff's luminous and boldly graphic works embody what Snyder describes as possessing a "monumental quiet".  A quiet serenity permeates the space that each print-painting inhabits, no matter how bold or muted the color palate. Wanting to share the passion and the sense of mission she has long felt about the work of this American Master; her desire was to "spread the beauty" -- to give everyone the opportunity to live with a "Glankoff". And so she began first by choosing to create archival museum-quality reproductions of his work.

Snyder asked some of New York's most esteemed interior designers and architects who have long been admirers of Glankoff's art, to select images from the Estate to be reproduced as museum-quality archival art prints — bringing fine art to many, at an affordable price.

Being so intimately familiar with each print-painting, during the long process of color-correcting test prints against the originals, Snyder spontaneously started to photograph details of Glankoff’s painterly surfaces. Exploring the hand of the artist, this excavation soon produced hundreds and hundreds of “gestural abstraction” compositions. Given her background as a weaver, she envisioned these gestural abstractions as luxurious carpets. In 2018, Perennials initiated the first collection of “Art of Glankoff” hand-knotted rugs, bringing both Sam Glankoff’s and Wendy Snyder’s visual-worlds together. Today, SGW Collections embody Snyder’s gestural abstractions for both rugs as well as prints, concepts for wall murals, and patterns for wallpaper, tiles, carpets and textiles.

Wendy Snyder, director, curator, and archivist of the Sam Glankoff Estate, is the creative force behind the SGW Collections. An artist and weaver by training: B.A. in Weaving, College of Arts & Crafts (Center for Creative Studies, Detroit, MI), and Robert L. Kidd (Cranbrook Art Academy) Weaving Atelier, she created the Materials Library for 3DI International Architects, Houston, TX and then came to New York as East Coast Textile Representative for Knoll Furniture. Transitioning to Fashion, she became an accessories designer, fashion stylist and contributing editor to German Vogue Magazine. But then... she met Sam Glankoff.