About

Our team

John Johnson

Owner

I have always had an eye for art. My collection began in print form. I would buy prints, frame them and hang them. From there I moved on to giclees and original pieces. Originally, I opened Thames River Gallery as The Gallery at Firehouse Square to display my personal collection. Once I had the collection up, it became a gallery. The gallery has been a public statement of my particular taste in life. I am, and we are all, very proud of the gallery and of what we’ve accomplished.

Susan Aguiar

Comptroller

I come from a family of artists. My father and both my grandfathers were woodworkers and I grew up watching my aunt paint. It was a natural step for me to work alongside John at Thames River Gallery. I believe that we live in the perfect part of the country and that the gallery’s artwork reflects and showcases the area’s beauty.

Barbara Facas (Right)

Gallerist

Barbara received her bachelor’s of fine arts in art history and fine art from the University of Connecticut. Prior to joining the gallery, she was a senior account manager and a project manager with SNET-SBC-AT&T, providing telecom, enterprise and IT solutions to large business clients.

She is a Waterford native, with family tied to the downtown New London area that ran a small supermarket. Barbara has always loved art, especially maritime art and coastal landscapes. Ancient Egyptology and Near Eastern art have always been favorites as well.

Barbara was a customer at Thames River Gallery before becoming the gallerist and became an avid art collector, even commissioning a beautiful painting of her favorite coastal haunt. It was natural for her to step in when the position of gallerist opened. Barbara manages artist and customer relationships, intake and evaluation of artwork. She also designs gallery walls for shows, plans and executes new openings and keeps the gallery current. She is also available for home consultations and placement of artwork.

In her free time, Barbara loves walking barefoot on the shoreline, listening to the waves and the sounds of gulls on a quiet beach. Looking out over the ocean, Barbara inhales the sea air and ponders what the tide will bring in, and who's on that boat going by.

Jillian Hayman (Left)

Marketing

Jillian is an arts enthusiast with a background in writing and marketing. She attended Northeastern University, where she studied communications and psychology. She spent a year in Paris as part of her studies, which included an internship for a French company translating and tailoring web content for the English-speaking market.

After completing her degree, she landed her first job with a tech media company, where she stayed for five years and held roles in email marketing, product management and editorial in the firm’s Newton/Boston and San Francisco offices. She went on to work as a field marketing manager for a language translation company, where she managed promotions and events for the travel and hospitality, finance and manufacturing verticals.

Her career took a different focus when she gave birth to her daughter, Charlotte, and then welcomed her son, Dylan, two years later. After having the privilege of staying home to take care of her children for the past seven years, Jillian is pleased to join the gallery in her first foray back into the workplace. Here she assists in crafting the copy for the gallery's exhibitions and newsletter and helps with other events that the gallery hosts and participates in, all the while growing into the role of 3D/multimedia gallerist.

Shalom Murray

Hostess

New London native Shalom Murray is Thames River Gallery’s hostess, the first person visitors meet when they come through the door for exhibits and special events. A self-described jack of all trades who loves meeting people, Shalom also works as a certified nursing assistant and is the entrepreneur behind the PlaygirlTalk podcast.

About the gallery

Established in 2010, Thames River Gallery is recognized as one of the longest-tenured art galleries in New London, Connecticut.

Our team

About the gallery

Established in 2010, Thames River Gallery is recognized as one of the longest-tenured art galleries in New London, Connecticut.

Our team

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