Jim Zimpel’s works constructs factual and imaginary entry points and rituals: they are the means to process, explore, and understand things that are actually, or perceived as, inaccessible. A meaningful fishing experience, a trip to a natural wonder, a project built together in the garage shop behind the house. His practice is an attempt to attend to actual and desired familial bonds. It is location, object, or activity. A fire ring, a broken engine, a hug, the forced proximity between two men dictated by the hull of a 14-foot fishing boat. Zimpel's work is recollection and recognition, an interpretation of traditions, fiction and history, an exploration of the terms of patrilineal relationships as he understand them. Zimpel exhibits nationally and internationally and has attended numerous residencies abroad. He encourages his students to maintain an active and engaged social and personal practice and stresses the importance of flexibility and interdisciplinary practices. Zimpel attended the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and the University of Illinois at Chicago for his undergraduate degree and eventually traveled to New York for a graduate degree from The Milton Avery Graduate School of the Arts at Bard College.
HATCH Projects