Christine Kimball displayed her art exhibit “…a wild hare…” in the Corner Gallery of the Boswell Hall arts building. This was the first time Kimball has shown at NIC since 1995.
Kimball is a local artist from Spokane, but has traveled around the world studying art. She has exhibited her works in The Kress Gallery, Art Spirit, Cheney Cowles Museum, the New York Art Exposition and many other venues and collections since 1977. Her art has even been featured in the popular sitcom “Seinfeld” and “Parenthood.”
Christine Kimball stands with her 18-foot-wide piece, ‘...a wild hare...” The painting includes a whimsical dancer and the symbolic wild hare. Gabe Green/Sentinel
“I am an artist, through and through,” said Kimball. “Even if I never painted again, it’s what I am. Its despair, love, hate, passion, bitterness and contentment, all of this becomes part of my paintings”
Seven pieces were shown, fundamentally oil based but, as Kimball noted, “anything goes.” Five of the pieces were her landscape portraits, created in a style that focused on the emotion she felt, not the natural formations, and two were more abstract with their subject matter.
“It’s deep and I don’t mean that in an altitude way,” Kimball said.
Kimball’s presence aided discussions concerning the title of the exhibit, the immediate focus of spectators was on the wild hare Kimball drew into one of her pieces. However when deeper context was provided, a more fantastical explanation was necessary.
“They are just wild places. Places you don’t think anybody would really be, but maybe that wild hare lives in those places,” said Kimball.
A Gallery Walk at 10:30 a.m. Oct. 4, gave a group of NIC art students and several community members, as Kimball views it, “an introspection into [her] work.” She answered questions about the specific materials used in her work and described certain methods utilized in her art. Later that day Kimball was joined by NIC art students and guests for a slide show and presentation in Molstead Library, Todd Hall. Kimball outlined the journey she experienced as an artist, describing personal experiences from college and her career, coupled with art slides.
A main element of Kimball’s presentation was focused on her experience in “fellowships,” organizations that fund artists to practically live and breathe in the name of art. These “fellowships” are located in many places, like France, Virginia and at Yale University.
Later that evening, the Corner Gallery held a grand opening for Kimball’s exhibit. It was a publicized chance for community members and NIC students to come and introspect on Kimball’s art while she was there to answer any questions and entertain any conversation.
Jeanne Reese, a community member and art enthusiast, said Kimball’s landscape portraits resonate with her.
“My husband and I travel a lot on his Harley,” Reese said. “I don’t remember infinite details, [but] I remember this.”
“…a wild hare…” remains at the Corner Gallery until Nov. 4., 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday-Friday. The gallery is free and open to the public.
