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Jesse Krimes

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Jesse Krimes
Born13/11/1982
Lancaster, Pennsylvania
NationalityAmerican
EducationB.A., Millersville University
Known forMural art, art installations, sculpture
Websitewww.jessekrimes.com

Jesse Krimes (born 1982 in Lancaster, Pennsylvania)[1] is an American artist and curator, who focuses on criminal injustice and contemporary perceptions of criminality.[2]

Career

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In 2009, after graduating from Millersville University,[3] Krimes was arrested for cocaine possession.[4] While awaiting sentencing for his non-violent drug-related charges, he spent a year in solitary confinement. It was during this time that Krimes decided "to create something positive in the world”.[5]

"Everything could be taken from me, except my ability to create" - Jesse Krimes

During this time, he devised a way using hair gel and toothpaste to hand-transfer images of individuals labeled as offenders in newspapers onto 292 bars of prison-issued soap. The soap bars were then embedded into carved playing cards to examine an array of issues, including the failures of the American justice system. He then shipped them discreetly out of prison.[6][7] This ultimately became Purgatory (2009), which is currently at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.[5]

He was sentenced to six years in prison, and subsequently served five years.[4] In his last three years of his sentence, he was able to gain access to art supplies and was able to produce numerous pieces and mentor others. Krimes explained that “artwork facilitated conversation" and humanized him to some of the guards.”[8][9]

Upon his release he co-founded Right of Return USA, a fellowship program to support previously incarcerated artists.[10]

In 2016, JPMorgan Chase settled a lawsuit with Krimes, acting as plaintiff, for charging exorbitant fees for a debit card program that was supposed to help released inmates.[11]

Krimes has collaborated and received public commissions with a focus on prison reform including Amnesty International, Ford Foundation, Open Philanthropy, and the City of Philadelphia Mural Arts’ Restorative Justice program, to name a few.[12] Krimes was awarded fellowships by Robert Rauschenberg Foundation in 2017, the Independence Foundation in the same year, and the Ford Foundation’s Art For Justice initiative in 2018.[13] Krimes is represented by Burning in Water Gallery in New York.[14]

Krimes was the subject of the 2021 documentary film Art & Krimes by Krimes, directed by Alysa Nahmias.[15][16][17][18]

Work Chronology

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Selected chronology of showcased artwork.

  • The Space Between (2006)
  • Coercion (2008)
  • Apokaluptein:16389067 (2014) artist[19][20]
  • Amnesty International Commission (2015)
  • Marking Time in America: The Prison Works (2009-2013) (2016) solo show for artist[21][22]
  • Deus Ex Machina aka God from the Machine (2016)[23][24]
  • Stones, Zips, and Remnants; AP. Voices (2017)
  • Portraits of Justice (2018), co-curator with Russell Craig, artist, City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program[25]
  • Museum of Broken Windows (2018) artist[26]
  • Prison Nation (2018), artist[27]
  • The OG Experience (2019), co-curator with Russell Craig, artist[28]
  • Emanation 2019 (2019) artist[29]
  • Art as Freedom (2019) artist[30]
  • American Rendition at Malin (2020) [31]
  • Elegy Quilts. (2021) [32]

References

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  1. ^ "Philadelphia Artist Jesse Krimes' First Solo Exhibition of New Work Since Returning from Prison on Display at Drexel". DrexelNow. 16 December 2015.
  2. ^ Vider, Elise (20 May 2019). "Jesse Krimes uses art to engage with criminal justice reform".
  3. ^ Fang, Celina (2019-09-20). "Where Art and Rural Incarceration Meet". The Marshall Project. Retrieved 2023-02-23.
  4. ^ a b Hohenadel, Kristin (2014-03-19). "The Art of Doing Time". Slate. ISSN 1091-2339. Retrieved 2023-02-23.
  5. ^ a b Salomé Gómez-Upegui (December 27, 2024). "Artist Jesse Krimes Lets His Materials Take Center Stage". ART News.
  6. ^ "While locked up in a U.S. prison, Jesse Krimes secretly created epic works of art". cbc.ca.
  7. ^ Weber, Jasmine (2019-03-12). "Formerly Incarcerated Artists Visualize Healing". Hyperallergic. Retrieved 2023-02-23.
  8. ^ Philadelphia artist Jesse Krimes uses a 70-month jail sentence to create a monumental work of contraband art (PHOTOS)
  9. ^ "Jesse Krimes". Mural Arts Philadelphia.
  10. ^ "Formerly incarcerated artists can now apply to win a $20K arts fellowship". Mic. 23 March 2017.
  11. ^ "JPMorgan Chase settles debit card lawsuit with former inmates". August 5, 2016.
  12. ^ "Jesse Krimes". Robert Rauschenberg Foundation. June 26, 2017. Archived from the original on May 1, 2019. Retrieved June 10, 2019.
  13. ^ "About | jesse krimes". jessekrimes.
  14. ^ "Jesse Krimes". Mural Arts Philadelphia. March 31, 2022.
  15. ^ Carey, Matthew (2022-08-09). "MTV Documentary Films Sets Release Date For 'Art & Krimes By Krimes,' Doc About Artist Who Made "Secret Masterpiece" Behind Bars". Deadline.
  16. ^ Greenberger, Alex (2021-11-26). "Artist Jesse Krimes's Struggle to Overcome Years in Prison Showcased in New Documentary". ARTnews.com. Retrieved 2023-02-23.
  17. ^ Pham, Hanna (6 December 2022). "Documentary chronicles an unexpected side of prison life". CNN. Retrieved 2023-02-23.
  18. ^ Liu, Jasmine (2022-11-16). "New Documentary Looks at Artmaking Behind Bars". Hyperallergic. Retrieved 2023-02-23.
  19. ^ "prisoner creates 39-panel mural with sheets, hair gel and newspapers". designboom | architecture & design magazine. March 18, 2014.
  20. ^ "Jesse Krimes: Apokaluptein:16389067 | Zimmerli Art Museum". www.zimmerlimuseum.rutgers.edu. Archived from the original on 2020-08-10. Retrieved 2019-06-11.
  21. ^ https://www.artforum.com/uploads/guide.003/id27740/press_release.pdf [bare URL PDF]
  22. ^ "Jesse Krimes: Marking Time in America- The Prison Works (2009–2013)". Artsy. Retrieved 2023-02-23.
  23. ^ "Jesse Krimes: Deus ex Machina". Mural Arts Philadelphia.
  24. ^ "Philadelphia Artist Jesse Krimes' First Solo Exhibition of New Work Since Returning from Prison on Display at Drexel". drexel.edu. 2015-12-16. Retrieved 2023-02-23.
  25. ^ Rao, Sameer (October 4, 2018). "Philly Mural Project 'Portraits of Justice' Confronts Mass Incarceration". ColorLines. Archived from the original on July 29, 2019. Retrieved June 11, 2019.
  26. ^ Solly, Meilan. "NYC Pop-Up Exhibition Traces Broken Windows Policing's Toll". Smithsonian.
  27. ^ Smith, Roberta; Heinrich, Will; Farago, Jason; Schwendener, Martha; Cotter, Holland (March 1, 2018). "What to See in New York Art Galleries This Week". The New York Times – via NYTimes.com.
  28. ^ "Formerly Incarcerated Artists Visualize Healing". Hyperallergic. March 12, 2019.
  29. ^ "Emanation 2019". Atlantic City Weekly.
  30. ^ "Art as Freedom: A New Exhibit by Formerly Incarcerated Artists Opens in Chelsea". NY City Lens. February 20, 2019. Archived from the original on March 1, 2019. Retrieved June 11, 2019.
  31. ^ McCanne, Michael (2020-12-03). "The Fabric of Our Nation". ARTnews.com. Retrieved 2023-02-23.
  32. ^ Reynolds, Jacqueline (22 August 2021). "Pennsylvania artist invites Aspen audiences to see the incarcerated for more than their crimes". Aspen Daily News. Retrieved 2023-02-23.
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