James Kimak

As a multidisciplinary artist working in both fine and graphic arts, I have been fortunate to live a "creative life" since graduating with a BS in Fine Art from the University of Bridgeport in 1976. While working in creative design and illustration positions including The New Haven Register, DC and Marvel Comics, NBC and CNBC, I have kept up my work in painting and drawing, having my first solo show, "A Sense of Place," at the Edward Hopper House (now Museum) in Nyack, NY in 1993. Following this successful show, I became a founding member of the cooperative Piermont (NY) Flywheel Gallery where I exhibited for a number of years before eventual representation by the Allen Sheppard Gallery in Piermont and New York City's Chelsea arts district. There were four successful solo exhibits with this gallery.

Since then, I have exhibited in many juried (including some jurists of note), group and solo shows in and around NYC, including at the annual national juried show at the Rockport (MA) Art Association & Museum, where I garnered a Gold Medal for Excellence in Painting. Also among these shows was a regular showing of seven solo exhibitions at Chef Peter Kelley's (Iron Chef winner) restaurant, the Freelance Cafe in Piermont. I have also donated numerous works to various non-profit organizations' fund raising efforts throughout the years, and am a former Board member of the Edward Hopper House Museum. In September of 2021, I won the Gold Medal of Honor at the 108th Annual Allied Artist of America exhibition in New York City.

Beginning in 2019, I switched my long-time painting and drawing focus from works in pastel, to larger pieces in acrylic on canvas, a number of which can be viewed on this site. I focus on light and form, using abstraction and realism in the Edward Hopper mold (among other influences - I am also a fan of Fairfield porter, Richard Diebenkorn, etc..) to express my feelings about the world around me, focusing on beauty in the play of light on what is, often times, seemingly ordinary subject matter.

Resume

SELECTED EXHIBITIONS

Solo Exhibitions:

* Roost@Union Arts Center (Gallery 1 ), Sparkill, NY. April 7 through July, 2021

* ArtSuite NY Gallery, Piermont, NY "Explorations in Light And Form," September 14 – November 2, 2019.

Side-room mini-solo show, March 2020.

* Ned Kelly & Company, Piermont, NY. “CUBA: Mixed-media Works” -

October 2016. Based on a February 2016 cultural tour of Cuba. Currently exhibiting new works (2020).

* The Freelance Cafe, Piermont, NY. With former owner and Iron Chef-winner Peter Kelly,

have had 7 successful solo exhibitions, 2010 - 2018.

* Allen Sheppard Gallery, NYC / Chelsea District: 5 successful solo shows, 1997-2003.

* Piermont Flywheel Gallery, Piermont, NY. Co-founder, 3 solo shows, 1994-1996.

* Edward Hopper House Museum & Study Center, Nyack, NY, "A Sense of Place," 1993.

Group, Galleries and Juried Shows:

* Greenwich (CT) Art Society 104rd Annual Juried Show, Bendheim Gallery. July - Sept. 2021.

Jurist: Allison Rudnick, Associate Curator, the Metropolitan Museum of Art

* Jessie Edwards Gallery, Block Island, RI. Showing / representation from June 2021 on.

* Smithsonian-affiliated Annmarie Sculpture Garden & Art Center, Solomons, MD. National juried show:

"SHINE - Catching the Light." Juror from the Smithsonian. June 11 to August 29, 2021

* Arkell Museum & Library, Canajoharie, NY Juried show, The Art of New York. May 14 to July 21, 2021

* Rockport Art Association & Museum National Juried Exhibition, Rockport, Mass. December 2020.

Recipient of two awards including a Gold Medal for Excellence in Painting for Overlook, Spring Street.

* Mark Twain Library 48th Annual Juried Art Show, Redding, CT. December 2020.

* The Art Center, Dover NH: "Creating in Isolation" - 25 artists from US and Canada. Nov/Dec 2020 (Virtual)

* Greenwich (CT) Art Society 103rd Annual Juried Show. Sept/Oct 2020.

Jurist: Geaninne Gutierrez-Guimaraes, Associate Curator, the Guggenheim, Bilbao Spain.

* Norman Rockwell Museum, MA: Virtual "Home Is 2020" online exhibit, 3 featured works, May 2020.

* Novado Gallery, Jersey City, NJ. Feb-March 2020 (825 entries, 34 acceptances).

* B.J. Spoke Gallery, Huntington LI. Expo 39 show, March 2020.

Juror: Assistant Curator, Museum of Modern Art (300 entries, 19 acceptances).

* Edward Hopper House Museum Members Exhibit, 2019, 2020.

* Studio Montclair, Montclair, NJ, Juried show, June – August, 2018.

* Eisenhauer Gallery, Block Island, RI (representation).

* The Parrish Art Museum, Juried show, Southampton, NY.

* National Arts Club, NYC. National juried show.

* American Museum of Illustration, NYC - Two Society of Illustrators shows including publication in annual books.