Jim Arendt




 

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Cut, Pieced, and Stitched:

Denim Drawings by Jim Arendt

August 5 – October 23, 2016

Organized by the Arkansas Arts Center in conjunction with the ACANSA Arts Festival

 

Jim Arendt, American (Flint, Michigan, born 1978), Yvette & Ansley (detail), 2010, denim appliqué, 60 x 30 inches, courtesy of the artist.

As humans we are all products of our individual and collective life experiences—a patchwork of sorts. Jim Arendt, an artist from South Carolina, explores the shifting paradigms of labor and sense of place through his figural paintings, drawings, prints, sculptures, and denim portraits. Organized in conjunction with the ACANSA Arts Festival, Cut, Pieced, and Stitched: Denim Drawings by Jim Arendt features ten, life-sized portraits of the artist’s family members and close friends made out of denim, a durable, traditional material used to manufacture jeans. “Denim seems created to be abused, worn out, patched, stained, and burnt through,” says Arendt. “Its characteristics are mirrored in the individuals I choose to represent.”

Influenced by the radical reshaping of the rural and industrial areas in which he was raised, Arendt explores how individual lives are affected by continued changes to the American economic landscape. “I’ve paid witness to the demise of opportunities to engage in meaningful work and seen cities ravaged by the absence of industry,” said Arendt. “As the landscape of work and labor continue to shift around us, I use art making as a way to investigate how the division of labor and alienation from work has impacted individual lives,” he continued.

Jim Arendt received his BFA from Kendall College of Art & Design (Grand Rapids, MI) and his MFA from the University of South Carolina (Columbia, SC). He has participated in several arts residency programs, including The Fields Project (Oregon, Illinois); the Tactility Forum at Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts (Tennessee), and has been an invited instructor at Penland School of Crafts (North Carolina). His work has appeared in a number of exhibitions, including the Fiberart International 2013, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; the Rijswijk Textile Biennial (2013), Rijswijk, Netherlands; and he was the winner of the 2013 ArtFields© competition, held annually in Lake City, South Carolina. Currently, Arendt is Associate Professor of Art and Gallery Director at Coastal Carolina University in Conway, South Carolina.



Featured Works from the Exhibition

 


Jim Arendt, American (Flint, Michigan, born 1978), Ellie, 2012, denim appliqué, 67 x 60 inches, courtesy of the artist.

 

 


Jim Arendt, American (Flint, Michigan, born 1978), Harper (Firecracker), 2010, denim appliqué, 40 x 20 inches, courtesy of the artist.

 

 


Jim Arendt, American (Flint, Michigan, born 1978), Ian, 2013, denim appliqué, pocket linings, 50 x 40 inches, courtesy of the artist.

 

 


Jim Arendt, American (Flint, Michigan, born 1978), Jim, 2013, denim appliqué, imitation gemstones, 96 x 60 inches, courtesy of the artist.

 

 


Jim Arendt, American (Flint, Michigan, born 1978), Yvette & Ansley, 2010, denim appliqué, 60 x 30 inches, courtesy of the artist.