Last fall, Tuscaloosa-based artist Jamey Grimes installed their work Strata VII & VIII, (2015) in our “Pop Start A,” storefront space. The objects and environments that Grimes creates are fueled by encounters with real and imagined natural forces. The artist generates unique forms through the manipulation of synthetic materials, in this case, common corrugated plastic. These forms create experiential environments that Grimes wants to be simultaneously unsettling and serene. In doing so, the artist wants his work to remind viewers of their relationships, stewardship, and vulnerability to nature.
Of these two particular works, Grimes states “In Strata, multiple surfaces collide in a river of light and shadow. Colors change over time, dynamically shifting the viewer’s interpretation of depth and form. This environment is intended to be both tranquil and stirring.”
Jamey Grimes is a native of Tuscaloosa and teaches at the University of Alabama. He has shown his work in more than 100 exhibitions in 20 states including 701 Contemporary Art Center (Columbia), Lowe Mill ARTS and Entertainment (Huntsville) and the Meridian Museum of Art. He was awarded the 2019 South Arts State Fellowship for Alabama. He is an Alabama State Council on the Visual Arts Fellowship Recipient and was the Arts Council of Tuscaloosa’s 2014 Visual Arts Educator of the Year.