Artist Statement
I currently live and work in the vibrant art community of Santa Fe, New Mexico. For a time, I lived in Crestone, Colorado on the western slope of the Sangre de Cristo Mountain Range in the San Luis Valley. Crestone is one of the quietest places on earth. While listening to NPR radio out of Alamosa, CO, I heard two park officials from the Great Sand Dunes National Park discussing the latest results of decibel measurements in the valley. A typical library measures 40 decibels. They were both amazed to report that the Crestone area measured 14 decibels. It is that quiet and stillness that I aspire to convey in my painting.
My paintings evoke a sense of limitless space, of expansiveness, stillness and calm. The first gallery director to show my work used the description “minimalist abstract landscape.” I liked that. A lot can be said with simplicity by reducing the landscape to shapes and forms, much the same way a poet expresses an idea in three lines of haiku. And just as traditional haiku contains a kigo, or season reference, my paintings reference seasonality with an economy of expression that is almost always atmospheric
Artist Biography
Jamie Kirkland, one of the Southwest’s premier abstract landscape painters, has a unique voice and a sophisticated contemporary take on traditional landscape painting. Her technique is a process of action and reaction, resulting in many layers of paint and achieving an overall sense of color harmony. She is a consummate colorist, mixing many of her paints directly on the canvas.
Collectors have commented that they are drawn to the quiet, meditative feeling and harmonious color palettes that appear in many of Jamie’s pieces.
In 2006, Southwest Art magazine selected her as “an artist to watch.” Her paintings have been shown by the Utah Arts Council; the Museum of Fine Arts, Santa Fe, New Mexico; the Pensacola Museum of Fine Art (Florida); and other prominent arts organizations. In 2007, Jamie was invited to become a member of the National Association of Women Artists, which was founded in 1889 and is the oldest professional women’s fine art organization in the United States.
Many of Jamie’s paintings come from an imaginary place, which she desires to experience and convey. She also draws inspiration from her vast archive of digital photographs. Jamie is drawn to the expansive vistas of the West as well as the lush humid landscape and waterways of her native South. Having lived for a number of years in New York City, she also filters many memories of the New England coastline into her work.
Jamie’s work hangs in many prominent public, corporate, and private collections throughout the United States.
Solo Exhibitions
2010 EA Gallery, Rye, NY, Waterways
2010 Winterowd Fine Art, Santa Fe, NM, Enchanted April
2008 Winterowd Fine Art, Santa Fe, NM, Sanctuary
2006 Phoenix Gallery, Park City, UT, Mountain Time
2006 Winterowd Fine Art, Santa Fe, NM, Horizon Line
2006 G-2 Gallery, Scottsdale, AZ, Desert
2005 Phoenix Gallery, Park City, UT, Quiet
Selected Group Exhibitions
2011 Cabinet Magazine, Brooklyn, NY , An exchange with Sol Le Witt,
2011 Winterowd Fine Art, Santa Fe, New Mexico, Vibrant Passion
2011 Santa Fe Arts Commission, Santa Fe, New Mexico, Common Ground
2009 Jules Place, Boston, MA, Elements
2009 National Association of Women Artists, New York, NY, Small Works
2008 EA Gallery, Port Chester, NY, Opening Show
2008 Phoenix Gallery, Park City, UT, Small Works
2006 New Mexico Museum of Art, Albuquerque, NM, Southwest Biennial
2006 Pensacola Museum of Art, Pensacola, FL, Invitational
2004 Winterowd Fine Art, Santa Fe, NM, Opening Show
2004 Kimball Art Center, Park City, UT, Works on Paper
2003 Museum of Fine Arts Santa Fe, NM, The Show: Southwest Juried Exhibition (Juror: Susan Rothenberg)
2003 Saint George Museum, Saint George, UT, Traveling Exhibition
2003 “Deseret News,” Salt Lake City, UT, Color of Landscape
Education
2011 Private Instruction Deborah Paris, Taos, New Mexico
2004 BFA, University of Utah (with High Honors)
2004 Private Instruction with Connie Borup, Provence, France
2005 Private Instruction with David Dornan, Helper, UT
2006 Private Instruction with Paul Davis, Teasdale, UT
Publications
“In Essence,” Wolf Schneider, New Mexico Magazine, July 2011
“Serenity Now,” Devon Jackson, The Santa Fean, April/May 2010
“Artist Profile,” Meredith Banks, Santa Fe Circle, Spring 2008
“Artist to Watch,” Julie Osterman, Southwest Art, March 2006
“Paint Possibilities,” Melanie Steele, Artists of Utah E-zine 15 Bytes, March 2006
Collections
State of New Mexico
Capital One
Tyler Museum of Art, Tyler TX
Kevin Pollak
Advent International Corporation
Montgomery Museum of Art, Montgomery, AL
Art Fairs
2011 Art Chicago (Winterowd Fine Art), Chicago, IL
2010 Affordable Art Fair (Winterowd Fine Art), New York, NY
2009 Red Dot (EA Gallery). Miami, FL
2009 13th Annual Boston International Fine Art Show (EA Gallery), Boston, MA
2008 Affordable Art Fair (Winterowd Fine Art), New York, NY