Contemporary Realism – Paintings By 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.

 For the past 15 years, another focus has been on large-scale graphic mural designs for many major institutions such as Columbia University, New York Presbyterian Hospitals, the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, Montefiore Medical Center, and the Garden of Dreams Foundation of Madison Square Garden among others. These internationally award-winning graphic, narrative works, which often incorporate my fine art and photography, can be seen at www.KimakDesign.com .

Beginning in 2019, I switched my long-time painting and drawing focus from works in pastel, to larger pieces in acrylic on canvas. 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. Indeed, a 2019 solo show at the ArtSuite Gallery in Piermont, NY was entitled “Explorations in Light and Form.” I am scheduled for inclusion in a group show later this year at the Carrie Haddad Gallery in Hudson, NY. My work can also be currently viewed at Ned Kelly and Company in Piermont and on my website at JamesKimakFineArt.com

My wish is that any “art statement” I can make lies more concretely in the works themselves. I hope you enjoy viewing them. Please contact me, or the staff at Roost, if you are interested in purchasing any of the pieces.”~James

Exhibit may be viewed while dining at Roost Restaurant. Open @5 PM daily (except Tuesdays) or by appointment: 845-359-0258.

Photo Credit: Paul Undersinger

SELECTED EXHIBITIONS

Solo Exhibitions:

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

*  ArtSuite NY Gallery, Piermont, NY  “Explorations in Light And Form,” September 14 – November 2, 2019. 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 and Juried Shows:

* 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. Dec. 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).  Show title: Red

* 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.

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

Collectors of gallery and commissioned works include BET co-founder / resort owner Dr. Sheila Johnson, actors Alan Ruck and Alec Baldwin, Breeders’ Cup Chair Fred Hertrich and the Rockland County (NY) Government offices, among many others from the Northeast to Florida to California. Many works have also been donated to non-profit fund-raising events over the years, raising many thousands of dollars.