KIMBERLY MACARTHUR GRAHAM
ARTIST STATEMENT These paintings recall places that I’ve wandered and that I’ve loved. Each location possessed so much power, so much allure, that it engendered in me what novelist Paul Watkins calls, “a kind of interior stillness that, if you are patient, comes upon you suddenly, like the breaking of a wave, as if you are suddenly absorbed into everything around you. That is the real gift of a place like this.” (The Fellowship of Ghosts, pp. 90-91)
I go on foot everywhere I can, looking around, and later, remembering. In this way, the world goes by at a slower pace better suited to my eye and temperament.
After a noteworthy expedition, I often paint. I abstract a recollected scene by exaggerating or suppressing visual qualities to reflect my feelings about it. In this series in particular, shapes and patterns emerged that suggest the churning unseen forces that shape earth and water and sky.
I hope you find as much pleasure in the viewing as I did in the trekking.
HOW WERE THESE PAINTINGS MADE? Each one began life as a black-and-white composition of tar paper glued to panel, which I then covered with artisan-made paper and acrylic texturing. Once everything was dry, I saturated each piece with linseed oil to allow the tar paper to “bloom” through the top layer of paper. This bloom was controlled and accented and then the entire panel was finished with oil paint.
BIOBRAPHY I was born in Dallas, Texas, lived in several places across the US, and eventually chose Denver, Colorado as home. Contrary to what many people believe, Denver is neither full of cows nor a “town.” It is a thriving city with an attractive mix of friendly people, natural beauty, sunshine, and, yes, culture. Like most artists, I have been making art since I was a child. Bless my parents for putting most of it on the refrigerator. At university, I took my first painting class and, from the moment I laid oil paint on panel, I fell in love with the medium’s visual and material sensuality. My art is represented by galleries in Colorado, Texas, and New Mexico, and it is regularly shown at non-profit and commercial spaces across the US. In addition, I am a published writer on art, architecture, and design, as well as marketing director for MOA ARCHITECTURE, an award-winning firm specializing in “socially relevant” public sector and commercial work. I live in a renovated Victorian house with a remarkably supportive husband, two odd but charming tabby cats, and a garden full of sculpture and secrets. When I’m not obsessing over meeting a deadline, you can find me outside (usually) – gardening, walking, hiking, running, or snowshoeing - or inside the kitchen, cooking or eating something inspired by the latest issue of Food and Wine. EDUCATION M.A., art history, University of Denver, 1997 B.A., studio art, University of Texas at Austin, 1991
SELECT SOLO and SMALL GROUP FORMAT EXHIBITIONS “Words Works,” Abecedarian Gallery, Denver, CO, USA – 2009 “Seductive, Still,” SPACE Gallery, Denver, CO, USA – 2008 “Seeds” (with Bonnie Ferrill Roman), Lakewood Cultural Center, Lakewood, CO, USA - 2007 “A Luminous Thread,” EDGE Gallery, Denver, CO, USA – 2007 “FUSE”, Stoneheart Gallery, Evergreen, CO, USA - 2006-2007 “Offering,” EDGE Gallery, Denver, CO, USA - 2006 “Winter Fruit,” Mildred M. Cox Gallery, William Woods University, Fulton, MO, USA - 2006 Buell Theatre, Denver Performing Arts Complex, CO, USA - 2005 “Cross-Pollination” (collaboration with Bonnie Ferrill Roman), CORE New Art Space, Denver, CO, USA - 2005 “Dialog,” Studio Aiello, Denver, CO, USA - 2005 “Within/Without: A Conversation in Painting and Poetry” (collaboration with poet Kathryn T.S. Bass), The Western Colorado Center for the Arts, Grand Junction, CO, USA - 2005 “A/(I)llusions,” Yellow Door Gallery, Denver, CO, USA - 2004 “Opus 2 in G,” Blue Dome Gallery, Silver City, NM, USA - 2004 Untitled three-person show at KW Gallery, Denver, CO, USA - 2003 “Organic Forms,” Improv Contemporary Gallery, Fort Collins, CO, USA - 2002 “Pilgrimage,” 44T Artspace, Denver, CO, USA - 2002 “Unnoticed Fragments,” Fresh Art Gallery, Denver, CO, USA - 2002 “Passage,” 44T Artspace, Denver, CO, USA - 2001 “Serendipities,” New Lab, Denver, CO, USA - 2001
SELECT GROUP EXHIBITIONS “Tranquility,” Cerulean Gallery, Dallas, TX, USA - 2008 “Movement and Color,” Agni Gallery, New York, NY, USA – 2008 Juried Student / Alumni Exhibition, University of Denver Victoria H. Myhren Gallery, CO, USA - 2008 “Over the Rainbow,” East End Applied Arts, Aurora, CO, USA – 2007 “Power of Suggestion,” Infusion Gallery, Los Angeles, CA, USA - 2007 “Kitchen Goddess,” Lakewood Cultural Center, Lakewood, CO, USA – 2007 “High Heels in Wet Pavement,” Eleanor Bliss Center for the Arts, Steamboat Springs, CO, USA - 2006 “Power of Word,” Downtown Aurora Visual Arts, Aurora, CO, USA - 2006 “Ephemeral” (work with Bonnie Ferrill Roman), CORE New Art Space, Denver, CO, USA - 2006 23rd Annual All-Colorado Art Show, Curtis Arts & Humanities Center, Greenwood Village, CO, USA - 2006 “Metal Men (and Two Women),” East End Applied Arts, Aurora, CO, USA - 2006 “Stretched Tight,” Target Gallery at the Torpedo Factory Art Center, Alexandria, VA, USA - 2006. Juror: Jack Rasmussen “Art on the Edge,” Red Rocks Community College, Lakewood, CO, USA - 2006 “Year-end Finale,” KW Gallery, Denver, CO, USA - 2005 “The Red Show,” East End Applied Arts, Aurora, CO, USA - 2005 “Come Together,” Studio Aiello, Denver, CO, USA - 2005 “Finale,” KW Gallery, Denver, CO, USA - 2004 2004 All-Colorado Show, Curtis Arts & Humanities Center, Greenwood Village, CO, USA. Juror: Adam Lerner CoAF Curated Showcase, Republic Plaza, Denver, CO, USA - 2004. Curator: Andra Archer “City Lives,” Neo Art Gallery, Denver, CO, USA - 2004 Third Annual National Juried Drawing Exhibition, Wiford & Vogt Fine Art, Santa Fe, NM, USA - 2004 Valentine show, Blue Dome Gallery, Silver City, NM, USA - 2004 Invited to participate in the 2003 Biennale Internazionale Dell’Arte Contemporanea, Florence, Italy August show, Blue Dome Gallery, Silver City, NM, USA - 2003 CoAF Curated Showcase, Republic Plaza, Denver, CO, USA - 2003. Curator: Andra Archer “HOT,” Metro Frameworks, Denver, CO, USA. Jurors: Jerry Gilmore, Paul Hughes, and Mimi Davies. “Untitled” invitational abstract show, Studio Aiello, Denver, CO, USA - 2002 “Movements,” SPACE Gallery, Denver, CO, USA - 2002
Art exhibition for the 2002 Olympics, Park City, UT, USA “101 Vampires,” GOOG, Denver, CO, USA - 2001. Juror: Kathryn Charles “Miniatures Show,” Core New Art Space, Denver, CO, USA - 2001. Juror: Jeanie Nuanes King “Contemporary Colorado 2001,” The Western Colorado Center for the Arts, Grand Junction, CO, USA. Juror: Elizabeth Schlosser “Elements,” Charles Kristen Galleries, Denver, CO, USA - 2001 “Emerging Artists 2001,” The Artists Guild, Denver, CO, USA
AWARDS and HONORS Art commissioned for Denver Art Museum’s Design After Dark, a fundraiser for the Department of Architecture, Design & Graphics – 2006 and 2009 Finalist, Rocky Mountain Women’s Institute Associate Grant Program, 2005 & 2006 Juror’s Award, 23rd Annual All-Colorado Art Show, 2006 First Place, Colorado Artists Festival, 2004
GALLERY ASSOCIATIONS SPACE Gallery, Denver, CO, USA Stoneheart Gallery, Evergreen, CO, USA Cerulean Gallery, Dallas, TX, USA Blue Dome Gallery, Silver City, NM, USA
SELECT COLLECTIONS Pinnacol Assurance, Denver, CO, USA PAR-A-SOL, LLC, Denver, CO, USA Mercer Consulting, Denver, CO, USA Prima Donna Public Relations, Golden, CO, USA RHadius Architects, PC, Denver, CO, and Washington, DC, USA Humphries Poli Architects, Denver, CO, USA Vitahl Medical Rejuvenation Spa, Denver, CO, USA Cocktail Concepts, Denver, CO, USA Amir Etemadi (Amako), Denver, CO, USA; Toronto, Canada Ann Cuthbertson Architects, Denver, CO, USA Burges Smith, St. Helena, CA, USA Westhills Community Clubhouse, Lakewood, CO, USA Numerous arts professionals (curators, artists, etc.) in the Denver area
PUBLICATIONS “3 From Within/Without,” DIAGRAM ( http://www.thediagram.com/5_4/ bassgraham.html). Bass, Kathryn T.S. and Kimberly MacArthur Graham, Within/Without: A Conversation in Poetry and Painting (Pilgrims Process, 2005). ISBN: 0-9749597-4-X.
SHOW REVIEWS and ARTIST PROFILES American Art Collector: Central States. Vol. 4, Book 2: 71. color illus. Chandler, Mary Voelz, “Critics’ Choice: Art,” Rocky Mountain News, May 24, 2008: 2D. YourHub Denver edition, Weekly Pick: Ongoing Event: “Seductive, Still Art Showing,” The Denver Post, May 22, 9W. MacMillan, Kyle, “We’re not in Kansas Anymore,” The Denver Post, Oct. 11, 2007. Uhland, Vicky, “Working Jointly is Twice as Nice,” The Denver Post, Apr. 22, 2007: 30A, color illus. Chandler, Mary Voelz, “EDGE Gallery Hits a Home Run,” Rocky Mountain News, April 14, 2007: 2D. Chandler, Mary Voelz, “Heaven and the Refrigerator,” Rocky Mountain News, Mar. 2, 2007. Smith, Colleen, “ArtScene: Kimberly MacArthur Graham,” Colorado Expression, Dec. 2006/Jan 2007: 82-24, 87, color illus. Vickstrom, Anne, “Artists Team Up for Unique Exhibit,” Canyon Courier, Dec. 6, 2006: 5B, 9B, b/w illus. American Art Collector: Central States. Vol. 3, Book 2: 35. color illus. “Culture, Aurora-style,” BestBets in The Denver Post, Nov. 17, 2006: 10FF. “CORE New Art Space Member Show,” Downtown Denver News, Nov. 10 – Dec. 10, 2005: 22. Card Chmel, Janalee, “Artistic Collision,” University of Denver Magazine, Fall 2005: 43, color illus. Schluter, Debra, “East End Applied Arts is Red Hot with its Latest Show,” Aurora Daily Sun & Sentinel, June 13, 2005. Paglia, Michael, “Formal Ware: New Abstracts are Brought Together at Great Shows at + Gallery and Studio Aiello,” Westword, May 12, 2005. Moulding, Murray, “Interview: Graham/Bass”, Elevated Living, May/June 2005: 25-29, color illus. Stickney, Dane, “Paintings and Poems: Art Center Offers Expressions through Words, Images,” Grand Junction Free Press, Mar. 4, 2005:12, color illus. “Graham, Gasteyer Will Premiere at a Reception at Blue Dome Gallery,” Silver Scene, Aug. 6, 2004: 1, color illus. “Living Through Art: Studio Life” Colorado Modern, May 2004: 6-7, color illus. “Seeking Sabi,” University of Denver Magazine, Winter 2003-04: 41, color illus. Television interview regarding participation in Colorado Art Expo; Channel 7 News, Dec. 7, 2003 Television interview regarding participation in Colorado Arts Festival; Channel 4 News, May 25, 2003 “Spotlight: Colorado Arts Festival,” Rocky Mountain News, May 23, 2003: 5D, color illus. “Colorado Arts Festival Preview,” The Daily Camera, May 23, 2003: n.p., b/w illus. “Itinerary: State of the Art,” Colorado Homes and Lifestyles, Apr. 2003: 99, color illus. “Point of View,” Colorado Homes and Lifestyles, Jan. 2003: 176, color illus. North Denver Tribune, Art Listings, Oct. 10, 2002: 11,13, b/w illus. “Featured Artist – November,” ArtistsRegister.com, Nov. 2001:http:// artistsregister.com/resources.phtml “Exhibit Highlights – Contemporary Colorado ’02: form and content,” The Art Center – Grand Junction, Colorado, July, 2001: http://www.gjartcenter.org/contempco01/contempco01.html “Artist Profile: Kimberly Graham,” The Baker [Neighborhood] Bark, June 2001: 3, b/w illus.
OTHER RELEVANT DETAILS Published magazine writer on architecture and design Director of Marketing, MOA ARCHITECTURE Member, Museum of Contemporary Art / Denver, CO, USA Board Member, Design Council of the Dept. of Architecture, Design & Graphics, Denver Art Museum, CO, USA Member, National Museum for Women in the Arts, Washington, DC, USA Member, WomanMade Gallery, Chicago, IL, USA Guest Lecturer, Metropolitan State College of Denver, CO, USA Steering Committee, Doors Open Denver - 2006 Guest Juror, University of Colorado at Denver, Architectural Design Studio
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