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Ken Grimes


켄 그라임스 (b. 1947)

켄 그라임스는 뉴욕에서 태어나 코네티컷주 체셔에서 자랐다. 어렸을 때부터 공상과학 소설을 즐겨 읽었던 켄 그라임스는 외계 생명체, 지구 밖 행성과의 커뮤케이션, 텔레파시, UFO 등 깊이 연구하며 우리의 삶 속에 특히 켄 자신의 삶과 연관성이 있다고 믿는다. 외계행성 관련 저널에서 오류들을 발견한 켄 그라임스는 지구인들이 만들어내는 ‘실수'들이 우연이 아니라 외계 생명체들이 의도적으로 조작한 결과라고 생각한다. ‘켄 그라임스'라는 이름을 30여 개의 공상과학 소설에서 발견한 일화 그리고 같은 동네에 살고 있는 동명이인이 15억 복권 당첨에 된 일화 등을 기록하면서 시작된 그의 이야기들은 수많은 텍스트로 이루어져 있다.


30년 동안 의도적으로 모노톤의 팔레트를 구성했던 작가는 흑과 백이 진실과 거짓(외계인의 조작)을 제일 직접적으로 구분할 수 있다고 한다. 외계 생명체에 관한 연구에 수많은 오류가 발견되는 것은 그들의 세계를 연구하려고 하는 지구인들을 방해하는 외계인들의 흔적이라고 생각하였고 켄 그라임스는, 그러한 흔적들을 내러티브 형식으로 풀어내 관객이 아직 접하지 못한 세계로 그들은 인도하려 한다.


2020년 켄 그라임스는 원색을 접하는 등 파격적인 변화를 선보이며 아레시보 메시지(Arecibo Message) 시리즈로 한층 더 미지의 세계의 재미를 더하고 있다.


1998 년에는 미국 민속 미술관(American Folk Art Museum)의 순회 전시회인 “Self-Taught Artists of the 20th Century”를 구성하는 31명의 대표 작가인 Thornton Dial, Purvis Young, Lonnie Holley으로 구성된 그룹에 포함되었다. Milwaukee Art Museum, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, American Folk Art Museum 등에 영구 소장이 되어있다.



Ken Grimes  illustrates the incredible inventiveness of his fantastical world of storytelling through his graphic and textual paintings of extraterrestrial intelligence and cosmic coincidences. His impressive oeuvre oscillates between whimsical and serious, pleasantly prompting viewers to think about the existence of alien civilizations and the importance of contacting them. 


For more than 30 years, Grimes has diligently maintained a stark palette of black and white, which he believes is the most direct way of visually distinguishing the contrast between truth and deception, and thus resulted in fascinating text-only compositions. Grimes interlaces text from his favorite paranormal writers with his own unique narrative voice, effectively creating a sense of the ongoing thought process inside the artist’s brain. 


His trademark style attracted massive popularity within the contemporary, self-taught and outsider art field and has been showcased in countless prestigious museums such as the American Folk Art Museum, Milwaukee Art Museum, Philadelphia Museum of Art, and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago.  


English text by Jina Choi

Ken Grimes-INSIDERXOUTSIDER: UNPIEO Fundraising Exhibition @WHNY Busan gallery

Ken Grimes-INSIDERXOUTSIDER: UNPIEO Fundraising Exhibition @WHNY Busan gallery

Ken Grimes-INSIDERXOUTSIDER: UNPIEO Fundraising Exhibition @WHNY Busan gallery

Ken Grimes-INSIDERXOUTSIDER: UNPIEO Fundraising Exhibition @WHNY Busan gallery

Ken Grimes-INSIDERXOUTSIDER: UNPIEO Fundraising Exhibition @WHNY Busan gallery

Ken Grimes-INSIDERXOUTSIDER: UNPIEO Fundraising Exhibition @WHNY Busan gallery

Ken Grimes-INSIDERXOUTSIDER: UNPIEO Fundraising Exhibition @WHNY Busan gallery

Ken Grimes-INSIDERXOUTSIDER: UNPIEO Fundraising Exhibition @WHNY Busan gallery

Ken Grimes-INSIDERXOUTSIDER: UNPIEO Fundraising Exhibition @WHNY Busan gallery

Ken Grimes-INSIDERXOUTSIDER: UNPIEO Fundraising Exhibition @WHNY Busan gallery

Untitled, 2020, Ink on paper, 31 x 23 cm, KG 002

Untitled, 2020, Ink on paper, 31 x 23 cm, KG 011

Untitled, 2020, Ink on paper, 31 x 23 cm

Untitled, 2020, Ink on paper, 31 x 23 cm

Untitled, 2020, Ink on paper, 31 x 23 cm, KG 018

Untitled, 2020, Ink on paper, 31 x 23 cm, KG 023

Untitled, 2020, Ink on paper, 31 x 23 cm, KG 025

Untitled, 2020, Ink on paper, 31 x 23 cm, KG 026

Untitled, 2020, Ink on paper, 31 x 23 cm, KG 027

Untitled, 2020, Ink on paper, 31 x 23 cm, KG 029

Untitled, 2020, Ink on paper, 31 x 23 cm, KG 030

Untitled, 2020, Ink on paper, 31 x 23 cm, KG 038

Untitled, 2020, Ink on paper, 31 x 23 cm, KG 040

Untitled (Vulcan Salute #1), 2011, Acrylic on masonite, 61.6 x 45.7 cm, KG 049

Untitled (Vulcan Salute #2), 2011, Acrylic on masonite, 61.6 x 45.7 cm, KG 050

Untitled (Vulcan Salute #3), 2011, Acrylic on masonite, 61.6 x 45.7 cm, KG 051

Untitled (Vulcan Salute #4), 2011, Acrylic on masonite, 61.6 x 45.7 cm, KG 052

Untitled (The Devils Tower & Parabolic Dish), 2018, Acrylic on canvas, 91.4 x 121.9 cm, KG 053

Untitled (work in 3 parts), 2020, Acrylic on masonite, 121.9 x 274.3 cm, KG 054

Untitled (I Took The Liberty of enhancing This Photograph), 2013, Acrylic on canvas, 124.5 x 94 cm, KG 055

Untitled (The Electrical Experiment of Marconi), 2013, Acrylic on canvas, 124.5 x 91.4 cm, KG 056

Untitled (Human/Alien), 2010, Acrylic on masonite, 121.9 x 83.8 cm, KG 057

Untitled (In Western America), 1997, Acrylic on canvas with frame, 94.6 x 99.7 cm, KG 058

Untitled (Betty Hill Who Claimed She was Abducted by Aliens), 2013, Acrylic on canvas, 124.5 x 94 cm, KG 059

Untitled, 2020, Ink on canvas, 30.5 x 22.9 cm, KG 061

Untitled, 2020, Ink on canvas, 30.5 x 22.9 cm, KG 062

Untitled, 2020, Ink on canvas, 30.5 x 22.9 cm, KG 070

Untitled, 2020, Ink on canvas, 30.5 x 22.9 cm, KG 074

Untitled, 2020, Ink on canvas, 30.5 x 22.9 cm, KG 069

PRESS

VIDEO

PUBLICATIONS

Past

Exhibitions

Wynn New House Awards

Selected

Exhibitions

2019

The Doors of Perception, Curated by Javier Téllez in collaboration with the Outsider Art Fair, Frieze New York

Field Station: Ken Grimes, Eli & Edythe Broad Art Museum at Michigan State University, East Lansing

DeCordova New England Biennial 2019, DeCordova Museum and Sculpture Park, Lincoln


2017, Unreal Realms, Intuit: The Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art, Chicago


2010, Ken Grimes: Contact–New Evidence, Ricco/Maresca Gallery, New York


2007, Ken Grimes: Elusive Messages, Intuit: The Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art, Chicago


2003, Ken Grimes: Messages from Outer Space, Ricco/Maresca Gallery, New York

Selected 

Collections

Museum of American Folk Art, New York

Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia

Selected

Bibliography

Russell, Charles, “The Truth in Black and White: The Art of Ken Grimes,” Raw Vision, No. 50, Spring 2005.

Self-Taught artists of the 20th Century, Museum of American Folk Art, New York, 1998.

Maresca, Frank and Roger Ricco, American Self-Taught: Paintings and Drawings by Outsider Artists, Knopf, New York, 1993.

This project undertakes the motto of ‘Think Outside Borders’ ‘Think Outside the Box’ ‘Think into Action’.

워킹하우스뉴욕은 3가지 모토 (국경을 넘어선 사고; 틀을 깨는 사고; 표현하는 사고)를 가지고 프로젝트를 기획한다.

Think Outside Borders

Art narrows the gap between countries. It minimizes language barriers and enables us to communicate qualitatively and share complex emotions. We are committed to using art as an outpost for carrying out critical conversations with the world by placing art in contexts that matter.

예술은 언어를 뛰어 넘는 커뮤니케이션의 수단이다. 상이한 문화와 관습에서도 통합적인 사고를 하게 하며 우리의 복합적인 감정을 공유할 수 있게 한다. 워킹하우스뉴욕은 이러한 예술을 통해 현대사회와 국경을 초월한 의미있는 소통을 추구한다.

Think Outside Boxes

We leverage art as a learning platform by giving diverse audiences of the globe a window to narratives that are either overlooked, little understood in mainstream conversations, or distorted in stereotypes and create commonality. We also intend to design programmatic initiatives and exhibition strategies to support the kind of inclusion championed by our campaigns.

예술은 고정관념의 틀을 깨고 그동안 간과되어 왔던 담론을 이끌어 낼 수 있는 교육 플랫폼을 형성한다. 워킹하우스뉴욕은 전 세계의 다양한 청중에게 예술을 통해 대화의 창을 제공함으로써 사고의 시각을 넓히는 창의적인 교육 프로그램을 만들어 나아가는데에 목표가 있다.

Think into Action

We collaborate with the art world to shed light on the complexity of the human experience and give a platform to which it can be seen and heard by endeavoring this artistic documentation to include in the international cultural network as well as in institutions as loudspeakers. By encouraging creative practices and connecting art to life, we strive to experience art in our life.

예술은 복합적이고 추상적인 개념을 물리적으로 구현해내고 그것을 통해 인간내면을 재조명할 수 있는 기회를 준다. 워킹하우스뉴욕은 적극적인 국제적 교류를 통해 해외문화의 접근성과 이해관계를 좁혀나가고 예술이 우리의 삶에 깊숙히 내재할 수 있도록 기획하고 실현하도록 지지한다.

Official Partners