Anna Kimm is a classically trained artist and documentary photographer in the Driftless region of Wisconsin.
Her photography is evocative and painterly, a sort of accidental renaissance that caresses the contours between light and dark. “When all is dark, you can capture the aliveness within that which is illuminated,” she explains, “In the dark there is a pause, and in that pause is possibility.”
Similarly, her emotionally driven paintings make use of color as value and illuminate the uncommon beauty found in the most ordinary of things.
“For me there is no separation between art and life. For as long as we have drawn breath, we have made art. Art is the most powerful modality for healing I have ever known. It bridges that false, yet sincerely felt, divide between oneself and others, between human and non-human.
I find art very haunting because it touches the deepest most vulnerable parts of us. We cannot say when or how a painting will speak to us, when we will round a corner and be brought to our knees.
Art has a magical way of making the viewer feel unexpectedly seen and held, but only if the artist has been courageously vulnerable and honest in their efforts. I make art so others have a portal through which to experience that supreme joy— and deeply, vital human need—of being Witnessed.
Photos and Paintings:
When people model for me, they give me the greatest gift—access to their tender spots.
They let me read their honest, painful, beautiful secrets. The ones etched in the lines of their face and carved on the palms of their hands. They allow themselves to be held by my gaze, surrendering the shapes and values of their life to be transmuted onto a canvas, reborn as color and light.
I am available for commission and can be easily reached by email at: annaalena@gmail.com
Murals:
There is perhaps nothing so satisfying as collaborating with other artists to create public art to beautify and inspire a populace. When working on a mural, artists become a different being together and a painting is created that none would have or could have made alone.
Beneath the surface of every mural, therefore, lies a universal truth that speaks to the creative power and beauty generated by our interconnection.
I am overjoyed at being able to paint as part of an artist collaborative playfully dubbed, “The Smockettes”, comprised of myself, Stella Greendeer, and Natalia Hinahara.
We are available for commission in Wisconsin, Minnesota, and the greater Midwest region. To start a conversation, reach out to me at: annaalena@gmail.com
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Education
2001-2006 MSU, Mankato, BFA Fine Art
2007 200 Hr Yoga Teacher Certification
2011-2013 Advanced Prenatal and Postnatal Yoga Certifications
2015- 2018 Advanced Yoga Studies, Tantra, and Yoga Nidra Certifications
Selected Exhibitions
2004 Prairie Lakes Regional Arts Council (PLRAC) Competition, The Carnegie, Mankato MN
2006 Council for the Arts (CANU), New Ulm MN
2006 Two-Person Exhibition for Contrafusion-a creative investigation of gender in art with Jarrod Feddersen, Mankato MN
2007 Two-Person Exhibition, Oslund and Associates, Minneapolis MN
2008 Two-Person Exhibition, Fairmont MN
Awards & Grants
2003 MSU juried exhibitions, 2nd place for "skin on skin"
2003 MSU juried exhibition, 2nd place for "maybe you got lost"
2004 12th annual Prairie Lakes Regional art Council at the Carnegie, Mankato MN, Best In Show for "I Can't Keep Secrets"
2005 Presidential Research Grant for Contrafusion- a creative investigation of gender in art with Jarrod Feddersen
2006 CANU, New Ulm, MN, Best in Show for "I Can't Keep Secrets"
Relevant Art Experience
2009 Mural assistant for Chandelle Anderson, South Dakota
2017 Winding Roads Art Tour, Viroqua WI
2018 Mural assistant for Pete Hodap, Viroqua WI
2019 Documentary photographer for Ostara Initiative (movement for the liberation of incarcerated birthing people). Minneapolis, MN. https://www.ostarainitiative.org/
2021 Native Plant Mural by the Smockettes (Natalie Hinahara, Stella Greendeer, and myself Anna Kimm), Viroqua WI
2021 Website photographer for Watershed Chiropractic https://www.watershedchiropractic.com/
2022 Documentary photographer for the filming of Ostara Initiative's “MasterClass” https://www.ostarainitiative.org/
2022 Winding Roads Art Tour