Kimmerly’s generously layered oil paintings provocatively combine figuration and abstraction. Figurative elements, especially faces, are rendered photo-realistically, scraped away, and then submerged within a milieu of textured daubs of paint.

These images present a secondhand or mediated relationship to actual experience that calls into question how we define the real. During the painting process, images are blurred, scraped, and layered with color to emphasize the complexity of defining authentic experiences.

BIOGRAPHY

Ian Kimmerly is primarily concerned with how technology has so quickly affected the ways in which we remember, relate to each other, and understand as well as define our world. Recently these issues have led him to examine sociological texts by Sherry Tuttle and Nicholas Carr, alongside themes in the work of postmodern theorists like Jean Francois Lyotard.

In his work, gestural, wavelike painted passages often submerge a variety of images. Concealed images include objects cast as reflections in windows, distorted video stills, and artificial elements such as mannequins and store displays. These images present a secondhand or mediated relationship to actual experience that calls into question how we define the real. During the painting process, images are blurred, scraped, and layered with color to emphasize the complexity of defining authentic experiences. This fragmented approach to a painting’s subjects is meant to create a visual distancing where the seams of an image, what’s tenuously holding it together, are revealed.

Kimmerly continuously examines how continental philosophy and critical theory grapple with the nature of reality, defining the basis and terms for such a complicated discussion. Kimmerly is drawn to nature as an antidote to the distractions of the digital world and often find significance, meaning, and harmony in the structures of tree branches or a lake’s wave patterns. The transcendental potential of the natural world and the symmetry and shapes inherent in forests, fields, and bodies of water, make them an integral part of my work and its underlying focus; the investigation of what binds us together.

Kimmerly received an MFA from the University of Arizona and studied at the Academy of Fine Art and Design in Bratislava, Slovakia. He has completed Artist in Residences at the Vermont Studio Center and the Santa Fe Art Institute where he received a grant from the Sustainable Arts Foundation. Currently living in San Francisco, Kimmerly spends time teaching as an Adjunct Instructor of Painting and Drawing at City College of San Francisco.

EXHIBITIONS

EDUCATION

• MFA - University of Arizona - Tucson, AZ —2005

• Academy of Fine Arts and Design - Bratislava, Slovakia —2004

• BFA - University of Michigan - Ann Arbor, MI —2002

• London School of Economics - London, England —2001

SOLO EXHIBITIONS

• As We Wander, We Are Closer - Dolby Chadwick Gallery - San Francisco, CA —2016

• Continuous Wave - Dolby Chadwick Gallery - San Francisco, CA —2013

• Mediated Memories - Cottage Industry Painting Salon - San Francisco, CA —2011

• Scenery - Della Brown Taylor Gallery - West Virginia State University - Institute, WV —2008

• Arrivals/Departures - Shane House Gallery - Tucson, AZ —2005

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS

• Christoper Martin Gallery - Dallas, TX —2019

• Content Matters - Marin Museum of Contemporary Art - Novato, CA —2019

• Color - Czong Institute for Contemporary Art - Gimpo, South Korea —2018

• Small Works - Richmond Art Center - Richmond, CA —2018

• Interstate - Sarah Spurgeon Gallery - Central Washington University - Ellensburg, WA —2017

• National Juried Exhibition - Wausau Museum of Contemporary Art - Wausau, WI —2017

• 20th Anniversary Exhibition - Dolby Chadwick Gallery - San Francisco, CA —2017

• Future Former - University of Michigan School of Art - Ann Arbor, MI —2017

• Summer Group Exhibition - Rarity Gallery - Mykonos, Greece —2017

• Family Portraits - Richmond Art Center - Richmond, CA —2016

• Microcosmos - Gallery 621 - Benicia, CA —2015

• SFO/SNA - Coastline Community College - Newport, CA —2015

• Faculty Exhibition - City College of San Francisco - San Francisco, CA —2015

• Here and Now - City College of San Francisco - San Francisco, CA —2014

• Point of No Return - Southern Exposure - San Francisco, CA —2012

• Editing - K Imperial Fine Arts - San Francisco, CA —2011

• Visual Aid’s Big Deal - SOMArts Cultural Center - San Francisco, CA —2011

• Elsewhere - Arkansas State University - Fine Arts Center Gallery - Jonesboro, AR —2011

• Staff Infection - San Francisco Art Institute - San Francisco, CA —2011

• Within - 500X Gallery - Dallas, TX —2010

• Artists Leading Artists: Faculty and Staff Exhibition - San Francisco Art Institute - San Francisco, CA —2010

• The Affordable Art Fair - Stephanie Breitbard Fine Arts - 7 West - New York, NY —2010

• Dualities - Sebastopol Center for the Arts - Sebastopol, CA —2009

• Landscape, Nature, and Space - Bucheon Gallery - San Francisco, CA —2008

• Paint Snob - McLennan Community College CSC Art Gallery - Waco, TX —2008

• Sprawl - Parchman Stremmel Gallery - San Antonio, TX —2007

• Home - Root Division - San Francisco, CA —2007

• SFAI Now - Red Ink Studios - San Francisco, CA —2007

• Save the Date - Dinnerware Contemporary Art - Tucson, AZ —2006

• Telling Time - Dinnerware Contemporary Art - Tucson, AZ —2006

• H2O - Dinnerware Contemporary Art - Tucson, AZ —2006

• Fragile Systems - Art One Gallery - Scottsdale, AZ —2006

• Reaching Out - Ward 6 Gallery - Tucson, AZ —2006

• Slow - Dinnerware Contemporary Art - Tucson, AZ —2006

• From Nothing - Hotel Congress - Tucson, AZ —2005

• Salon de Refuses - Dinnerware Contemporary Art - Tucson, AZ —2005

• Biennale - Academy of Fine Art and Design - Bratislava, Slovakia —2004

• Remembering - Tatranskà Galéria - Poprad, Slovakia —2004

• Placebo - Academy of Fine Art and Design - Bratislava, Slovakia —2004

• In Space - Fremont House of the University of Arizona - Tucson, AZ —2003

• Wedge - Shane House Gallery - Tucson, AZ —2003

• Crossing Borders - Casa de Cultura - Nogales, Mexico —2002

ACADEMIC POSITIONS

• Adjunct Instructor of Painting and Drawing - City College of San Francisco —2013 - present

  • Basic Painting, Intermediate Painting, Advanced Painting, Advanced Painting II, Basic Drawing, Figure Drawing

• Adjunct Instructor - University of Arizona - School of Art —2005 - 2006

  • Beginning Painting, Advanced Painting, Drawing, Figure Drawing

• Instructor of Record - University of Arizona - School of Art —2003 - 2004

  • 2-D Foundations/Color and Design

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

• Graduate Exhibition Co-curator and Coordinator - San Francisco Art Institute —2013 - 2014  

• Director of Graduate Operations - San Francisco Art Institute —2010 - 2013

• Graduate Facilities Manager - San Francisco Art Institute —2006 - 2009

• Instructor - Tucson Museum of Art School - Tucson, AZ —2005 - 2006

• Preparator and Gallery Assistant - Dinnerware Gallery - Tucson, AZ —2006

• Painting Area Technician - University of Arizona - Tucson, AZ —2002 - 2005

• Chief Preparator’s Assistant - University of Michigan Museum of Art - Ann Arbor, MI —1999 - 2002

PUBLIC LECTURES

• California Institute of Art - San Francisco, CA —2016

• University of San Francisco - San Francisco, CA —2014

• Santa Fe Art Institute - Santa Fe, NM —2014

• West Virginia State University - Institute, WV —2008

• University of Arizona - Tucson, AZ —2005

• Academy of Fine Art and Design - Bratislava, Slovakia —2004

REVIEWS AND PRESS

• National Juried Exhibition Catalog - Wausau Museum of Contemporary Art - Wausau, WI —2017

• “Fall Arts 2016: Art Preview” - SF Weekly - Jonathan Curiel —Aug. 31, 2016

• “Ian Kimmerly Exhibition at Dolby Chadwick Gallery” - Widewalls - Elena Martinique —Dec. 2, 2016

• "Exhibition of New Work by Ian Kimmerly Opens at Dolby Chadwick Gallery” - Art Daily —Dec. 8, 2016

• "Top 5 Most Anticipated Art Shows for Fall/Winter 2016" - Art Perspective - Aug. 8, 2016

• "Hidden Pictures" - V̶E̶N̶T̶R̶I̶L̶O̶Q̶U̶I̶S̶T̶ Quarterly Art Journal - Vol. II —2015

• “Ian Kimmerly: ‘Continuous Wave’” - San Francisco Chronicle - Kimberly Chun —June 13, 2013

• “Artist’s Statement: Ian Kimmerly on Why Painting Is His ‘Crazy Obsession’” - SF Weekly - Jonathan Curiel —June 21, 2013

• “Ian Kimmerly @ Dolby Chadwick” - Fecal Face - Rachel Ralph —June 19, 2013

• “S.F. Agenda: Ian Kimmerly” - California Home and Design - Dara Kerr —June 3, 2013

• “Ian Kimmerly and ‘Continuous Wave’” - Fine Art Connoisseur - Jeffrey Carlson —June 5, 2013

• “Week’s Hottest Events: Continuous Wave” - 7x7 SF - Holly McDede —June 3, 2013

• “A Lingering Tour: Three Pieces Worth Spending Some Time With” - SF Weekly - Jonathan Curiel —June 19, 2013

• “Continuous Wave: An Exhibition of New Paintings by Ian Kimmerly Opens at Dolby Chadwick Gallery” - Art Daily —June 4, 2013

• Property Owning Democracy: Rawls and Beyond. Ed. Martin O’Neill and Thad Williamson. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell, 2011. (Cover Art) —2011

• “Ian Kimmerly: Emerging Bay Area Painter” - Plastic Antinomy Visual Arts Quarterly - San Francisco and Oakland, CA —2008

• Home Exhibition Catalog - Root Division - San Francisco, CA —2007

• New American Paintings, Western Edition - The Open Studios Press - Boston, MA —2006

PUBLIC PROJECTS

• Tactile Dome Re-Design - The Exploratorium - San Francisco, CA —2011

AWARDS, FELLOWSHIPS, RESIDENCIES

• Juror's Award - Richmond Art Center - Richmond, CA —2016

• Artist In Residence - Santa Fe Art Institute - Santa Fe, NM —2014

• Artist In Residence - Vermont Studio Center (Sustainable Arts Foundation Fellowship) - Johnson, VT —2014

• Showcase Award - Artslant.com —2014

• Finalist - 2x2 Solos Award - Pro Arts Gallery - Oakland, CA —2013

• Nomination - SECA Award - San Francisco Museum of Modern Art - San Francisco, CA —2009

• Vermont Studio Center Fellowship —2006

• MFA Project Grant - University of Arizona —2005

• Graduate Scholarship - University of Arizona —2002 - 2005

• Dean’s List Award - University of Michigan —1999 - 2002