Bark Frameworks

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Bark Frameworks 4245 12th St., Long Island City, NY 11101
718-752-1919 or www.barkframeworks.com
Hours: Monday - Friday, 9 am - 6 pm
By appointment only.

Bark Frameworks began in 1969 in Jared Bark’s SoHo loft. As of January 2017, we are proud to be 100% employee-owned. We work from our 27,000 square foot building in Long Island City. Since we make all our frames here in our LIC shop, we can offer an infinite variety of new frame designs as well as our frames that have become classics. We started out by framing works by our contemporaries, and over time our range has grown to embrace the framing of Western works from Impressionism forward. We have designed and built numerous frames for textiles as well as Asian works, like thangkas. The framing of photographs from the field’s earliest days to the present has become a specialty. Our designs for mirror frames are unique as well.

Our archival matting options for artwork range from window mat, to island window mat, to float (backmat only). Visually,...
10/22/2026

Our archival matting options for artwork range from window mat, to island window mat, to float (backmat only). Visually, the window mat provides a field around the work of art, isolating it from both the frame and its surroundings. The major protective function of a window mat is to separate the work of art from the glazing surface; and to help support the perimeter of the paper sheet.

Commercially available mats are made as thin as 2-ply, about 1/32″ thick, and up to 8-ply which is 1/8” thick. At Bark, we custom mount thicker mats – always from 100% cotton rag board -- up to about 3/8” thick. Our art preservation technicians have a keen eye for detail, filing the bevels and extracting any imperfections by hand. The result is a truly flawless opening for your artwork.

(2/2) We milled the frames for the Howell exhibition in maple, to our classic 3N gallery profile; and finished them in v...
10/07/2026

(2/2) We milled the frames for the Howell exhibition in maple, to our classic 3N gallery profile; and finished them in various shades of spray white, designed to match the exact hue of the cotton rag board under the acrylic glazing.

“Bark Frameworks has been an incredible partner in presenting James Howell’s work for many years, and we greatly appreciate the way the frames extend the precision and simplicity of Howell’s works on paper into their display,” says the Foundation.

To learn more about “A Quiet Measure” -- comprised of paintings, works on paper, drawings, and etchings by Howell – click here: https://tinyurl.com/bdh9psf3

Images Courtesy of James Howell Foundation.

(1/2) Last week marked the close of “James Howell: A Quiet Measure of Light” at Galerie Thierry Bigaignon in Paris -- th...
10/07/2026

(1/2) Last week marked the close of “James Howell: A Quiet Measure of Light” at Galerie Thierry Bigaignon in Paris -- the first solo exhibition in France devoted to the work of American artist James Howell (1935–2014). Bark was honored to frame works for this show, comprised of paintings, works on paper, drawings, and etchings by Howell. Bark frame designer Dareece Walker worked with the James Howell Foundation to design ultra-minimal frames, the tones of which that often blended with Howell’s art itself. “The frame style was originally selected by Howell,” explains the Foundation’s curatorial assistant Lissette Morris.

Images Courtesy of James Howell Foundation.

(2/2) Continues Jed Bark, speaking on how the Bark coin came to be: "It was the 1990s, and we were designing many profil...
09/29/2026

(2/2) Continues Jed Bark, speaking on how the Bark coin came to be: "It was the 1990s, and we were designing many profiles and using a number of unique finishes at Bark Frameworks -- I wanted the frames to be identified as our work. A label or stamp on the backing board might easily disappear over time, but something affixed to the frame wouldn't be lost. So I designed the labels as discs, partly in homage to the old Metropolitan Transportation Authority - MTA NYC subway tokens, and especially so they could be easily installed, with just a shallow hole for the coin, and then a small screw in the center to secure it. We cast the coins in brass, and experimented with patinas so they would be more compatible our various finishes and with the woods we use, which ranged from dark woods like mahogany to pale ones like maple.” Be sure to tag us if you find a coin on the back of your Bark frame!

(1/2) In our last post, we talked about the backs of our frames, mentioning the Bark coin. Our founder Jed Bark designed...
09/29/2026

(1/2) In our last post, we talked about the backs of our frames, mentioning the Bark coin. Our founder Jed Bark designed this coin about 30 years ago. Explaining the coin's origin story, Jed muses, “Back when I was studying Impressionist frames, particularly those designed by Degas, we always inspected the backs of frames to find the framer's label. There was one framer in particular, P. Cluzel, who worked closely with Degas. If we were examining a frame that we thought Degas had designed, and we found a Cluzel label on the back, that was a pretty sure sign that the frame was original to Degas..."

We know the faces of our frames look flawless, but have you seen the back? Our superior craftsmanship is continued on th...
09/18/2026

We know the faces of our frames look flawless, but have you seen the back? Our superior craftsmanship is continued on the verso of each frame…We often install a strainer in the back of the frame for strength and stability (our strainers are made from poplar). Clear windows might also be built into the frame so that labels or provenance can be seen. Hanging hardware might include D-rings of various sizes, wire across (or both), z-clips, or cleats. For large/heavier works, we install proprietary nylon carrying straps, so that the framed art can be moved safely by staff or art handlers. Finally, Bark labels indicating materials used to frame the work, or how to care for the glazing, are fixed to the back of each frame. If it’s a double-sided frame (yes, we make those too!) you might even see more art, wording, or the artist’s signature. And if you’re very lucky: a Bark coin.

Our Blue Point profile, one of our named profiles that represent more popular designs, in a custom casein finish. This d...
09/15/2026

Our Blue Point profile, one of our named profiles that represent more popular designs, in a custom casein finish. This design is named after the village on the shore of Long Island’s Great South Bay (famous for oysters). This clean, versatile profile can be made to almost any spec, and has been effective in a variety of finishes and treatments. In the last few slides: Blue Point as a mirror frame. The example shown is clad in copper with a dark patina and wax finish. To learn more about our custom designs, click the link in our bio.

Last week we posted about our framing work for galleries. For museum exhibitions, or one-off pieces for a collection, we...
08/20/2026

Last week we posted about our framing work for galleries. For museum exhibitions, or one-off pieces for a collection, we often experiment more freely with profile design. Regardless of the complexity of the frame style, we can mill any design in a variety of wood species -- we use mainly domestic hardwoods such as maple, walnut, and red birch. We finish these custom designs in a vast array of treatments -- from sprayed maple, to a hand-painted mahogany frame, to polished aluminum or gilded wood. Here, a look at some of our museum collaborations over recent years.



Images:
Saya Woolfalk: Tumbling into Landscape, The Newark Museum of Art, 2021. Photo by Richard Goodbody. Central panel artwork: Saya Woolfalk, Self-Portrait of the Artist (with words by Sojourner Truth), 2021, 2022.2, Collection of The Newark Museum of Art, © Saya Woolfalk. Photographs by Irving Penn at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; artwork by Claude Monet at the Brooklyn Museum; a frame profile designed for the The Jewish Museum; art by Charles Sheeler at The Whitney Museum of American Art; art by Edward Hopper at the Whitney Museum; art by Joseph Delaney and Claude Clark at the Greenville County Museum of Art. Original corner samples designs for museums: Bark Frameworks archive.

We are proud to collaborate with some of the world's top museums and galleries, many of them here in New York. When work...
08/13/2026

We are proud to collaborate with some of the world's top museums and galleries, many of them here in New York. When working with galleries -- and their artists -- we often create more streamlined designs to protect the work in refined way, letting the composition and/or color of the art take center stage.

Our gallery (or stem) profiles can be milled in a variety of wood species, and scaled to nearly any size. Often, a species is selected for the visual pattern of the grain, which can then be accentuated or concealed by how it is finished. Occasionally, a flat-faced gallery frame is given a more dramatic gilded finish. Beyond hardwoods, we also work in metal: aluminum, brass, copper, and zinc. A range of profiles and finishes, from polishes to patinas to lacquers, are available.

Here, a few examples from our collaborations....

Images courtesy of: Hamiltons Gallery London, Fraenkel Gallery; Alexandre Gallery; Pace Gallery; Gagosian Gallery / Frankenthaler Foundation; Yossi Milo Gallery; Skarstedt Gallery; and March Gallery.

(2/2) Chris Mondello, who has been with Bark Frameworks for almost three decades, specializes in hand finishing. In the ...
08/06/2026

(2/2) Chris Mondello, who has been with Bark Frameworks for almost three decades, specializes in hand finishing. In the second slide, Chris experiments with different tones and concentrations of a stain finish, to match a sample.

We can also finish in a pigmented wax (shown here in the last few slides), a more colorful approach to the traditional stain and wax finish. To learn more about our capabilities, click here:
https://tinyurl.com/3cmt7t5x

Address

4245 12th Street
New York, NY
11101

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 6pm
Tuesday 9am - 6pm
Wednesday 9am - 6pm
Thursday 9am - 6pm
Friday 9am - 6pm

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