Continuing artist Jim Denomie’s legacy of giving back

When artist Jim Denomie left this world in after a battle with cancer at the age of he also left a tremendous hole in the heart of a society of artists who loved him and cherished his work At the time of his death Denomie was preparing for a major solo exhibition at the Minneapolis Institute of Art later shown posthumously and was beginning to be shown internationally He had in his possession works by plenty of of the artists he held dear collected over a lifetime through gifts trades and purchases His collection was a treasure trove of art he had gathered through his multiple studio visits with fellow artists gallery shows he d frequented and deep relationships he d cultivated This weekend his works will be shown and for sale as part of For Jim with Love Collection of a Storyteller on view July through Aug at Bockley Gallery in Minneapolis As an artist Denomie a member of Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians was fearless He took on political and social justice topics including issues of Native history sovereignty and identity in massive narrative paintings smaller intimate portraits sculptural work and drawings His expansive oeuvre also reflected domestic scenes and relationships dreams and visions and erotic fantasies Often he inserted his sly and satirical humor into his art While his death drew a close to his creative output his career in several way lives on according to his widow writer Diane Wilson Jim is still having a very effective career she noted noting his work was shown in New York in He s continuing to sell paintings and prints Denomie s legacy also lives on through the Jim Denomie Memorial Scholarship a project overseen by the Native American Region Enhancement Institute s All My Relations Arts undertaking Bockley Gallery and Denomie s family The annual award supports a Native artist who shows both a commitment to their career and artistic excellence as well as exemplifying Denomie s spirit of generosity The scholarship was created through district donations shortly after Denomie s passing There were so a great number of people who kept asking What can we do How can we help Wilson commented There was just no place for them to channel the sense of loss for who he was to so countless of us We just had this idea that we could create a scholarship from the generosity from our locality Each year the winner is revealed to the artist receiving the award on Denomie s birthday on July On a day that is somewhat poignant for all of us then we have this beautiful moment of making a blind call to the artist and just surprising them Wilson declared Among the past recipients were Star WallowingBull Maggie Thompson and Jonathan Thunder For Jim With Love Collection of a Storyteller supports the scholarship with nearly all of Denomie s collection on view at affordable prices and follows through Denomie s own wishes The opening celebration from p m - p m on July will include a potluck and music Artist Lauren dela Roche untitled Credit Courtesy of the Bockley Gallery At the opening and for the following week the masses will have the chance to see and purchase selections from Denomie s personal collection As beautiful a collection as this is it really requirements to get back out into the world Wilson mentioned To have it benefit the scholarship is just a beautiful way to celebrate both these artists and Jim s work and legacy The show s title comes from a monoprint by Jaune Quick to See Smith Denomie s close friend She and Jim really had a lovely sweet relationship Wilson announced Quick to See Smith s work used in the show as well as the words used for the title captured the essence of their relationship and who Jim was as a storyteller Jaune Quick-to-See Smith For Jim with Love Credit Courtesy of Bockley Gallery Artists in the show span generations and geographies including Julie Buffalohead Andrea Carlson Lauren dela Roche Ta coumba T Aiken Frank Big Bear Rick Bartow Alec Soth and Star WallowingBull last year s scholarship recipient It s like a who s who of artists in the area Wilson remarked Andrea Carlson Eat One s Own Credit Courtesy of Bockley Gallery Wilson a writer and population leader is as of now at work on a memoir about her life with Denomie She still lives in the home they shared in Shafer Minn It gives me a chance just to appreciate and remember our years together and how we developed as artists and writers together and our wonderful life both in the arts locality and with our communities she declared But then also what it s meant to me to be on this land and how that has helped me heal and process the grief of losing him For Jim with Love Collection of a Storyteller runs July through Aug at Bockley Gallery W st St Minneapolis The opening celebration and potluck will take place from p m - p m July free More information here The post Continuing artist Jim Denomie s legacy of giving back appeared first on MinnPost