Kolman & Pryor Gallery, named one of City Pages “Top 10 Galleries in the Twin Cities” in 2013, is kicking off 2014 with This Not a Quilt: New Work by Jim Dryden. The show begins Saturday, January 11, 2014 and runs through Saturday, February 22, 2014 with a free, public reception on Saturday, January 18, 7-10 p.m. Dryden has recently joined the Kolman & Pryor Gallery’s group of represented artists. This Is Not a Quilt will be Dryden’s first appearance at Kolman & Pryor as a gallery artist.
The exhibition showcases new work based on Dryden’s exploration of German mathematician Georg Cantor’s writings. Since Fall 2013, Dryden’s been investigating Cantor’s “set theory,” a fundamental principle of mathematics. Dryden continues this study with work rendered in a more nuanced and subdued color palette for this show.
Dryden is perhaps best known for his whimsical illustrations brimming with engaging and colorful imagery, and abstract paintings that explore intimacy and relationships. These two aspects of his work meld in Dryden’s recent “set theory” paintings, which investigate “chaos, structure and relationships with overlapping circular forms that purposefully careen across abstract backgrounds,” wrote City Pages. “Swaths of color create background, highlights and correspondences among the oblongs and circles. The result is worlds in which interlocking sets gather with communal grace.”
Dryden was invited to have a solo show at Kolman & Pryor because, “We believe his work is unique, and well-developed, and he’s an important and established artist in Minnesota,” says Patrick Kemal Pryor, Kolman & Pryor Gallery’s co-owner and curator. “By showing Jim’s work again, we hope to help Jim reach an even larger audience than his well-established following.”
A well-recognized and awarded illustrator, Dryden’s worked with well- known clients including 3M, Anheuser Busch, Coca-Cola, Disney, Honda, General Mills, John Deere, Marriott, NWA, Paine-Webber, Target and Viacom. He also generously provides artwork to many fine arts organizations and nonprofit causes. Jim received his BFA from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. He is a founding member of Form + Content Gallery.
“Jim’s 30 X 30 work delighted and intrigued gallery visitors,” says gallery co-owner, Anita Sue Kolman. “Gallery visitors will see an explosion of fascination and amazement with the gallery full of Jim’s complex yet approachable paintings.”