Thomas Chimes

Thomas Chimes (1921-2009) was an influential painter and artist from Philadelphia. His work is in some important public collections, including those of the Philadelphia Museum of Art ^[1], the Museum of Modern Art ^[2] in New York, the Corcoran Gallery in Washington, D.C.^[3], and the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts ^[4].

Background

He was born in Philadelphia in 1921. In 1939 he became enrolled in the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. His studies were interrupted by the US involvement in World War 2, in which he joined the US Air Force. After World War 2, Thomas began studying again in New York at Columbia University for philosophy and at Art Students League for painting and sculpture. While there he painted several portraits that fell in line with the New York Trends of the time. However, he decided to move back to Philadelphia in 1953, where he would develop his own, more personal style. Throughout the decades Chimes would continue to reinvent his style.^[5]. The artist's work also shows a strong penchant for evocative images reflecting his interest in several of the great writers of the early to middle years of the twentieth century, including Alfred Jarry, Antonin Artaud, and James Joyce. In particular, Jarry's concept of "pataphysics" informs the artist's work.

Early Works

He painted many Crucifixion paintings in the 1950's and early 1960's. In the mid 1960's he did a lot of metal box art work.^[6]

Recent Works

He worked on his most well know Panel Portraits between 1973 - 1978. It was a series of 48 portraits of famous people he admired. In the 1980's he began working on a series of white paintings characterized by being painted mostly white. ^[7]

Solo Exhibitions

Chimes has had numerous solo exhibitions. According to a 2007 Philadelphia Museum of Art press release, "By the early 1960s Chimes had enjoyed successful solo shows at the Avant-Garde and Bodley Galleries in New York."^[8] Many important solo exhibitions followed, including "Thomas Chimes: A Retrospective Exhibition", at the Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota, in 1968; Tom Chimes, A Compendium: 1961-1986, at Moore College of Art in Philadelphia in 1986; and Thomas Chimes: Survey at the Alexander Onassis Center for Hellenic Studies, New York, in 1994. In 1975, his work was included in the Whitney Biennial, and in the following year he was represented in the Philadelphia Museum of Art's landmark exhibition Three Centuries of American Art.

A major recent retrospective was Thomas Chimes: Adventures of 'Pataphysics' (February 27 - May 6, 2007) at The Philadelphia Museum of art. It was a full review of his artistic life which included over 100 of his pieces.^[9]