Pamela Kirkham
Visual Artist: Painting
Pamela Kirkham Artist’s Statement & Resumé
9762 Church Street
Bridgman, Michigan 49106
269.861.3899
Artist’s Statement
Pamela Kirkham is an energetic, expressive painter who works primarily in acrylics. Her work incorporates both the abstract and realistic. Each piece is rich with textures and layer after layer of thin and thick paint. Kirkham found that acrylic paint, with its transparent to opaque consistencies, is the ideal medium for expressing the multi-layered, healing nature of the human mind and its ability to morph from the abstraction of dreams to reality.
Many life experiences with native cultures living in New Mexico, Texas, and Oklahoma have led to the development of her signature artistic theme: healing of the body through the mind. Kirkham combines layers of abstraction and realism, compositionally weaving the viewer’s eye back and forth across diagonal grid patterns, and cleverly leads the viewer upward toward the light with sweeping motions in the abstract backgrounds. Healing of the mind takes place when viewed through a state of reflection or meditation, helping individuals escape from their life struggles and heal from within.
Light is an important element in the artist’s work as the flying creatures are always gravitating toward the light, symbolizing a place of inner peace. Basic structure of each piece implies the magnetic fields of Gaia. Upon further familiarity with Kirkham’s unique biography and the sources of inspiration behind her oeuvre, an artist is uncovered who has skillfully marshaled passion, a deep understanding of nature and it’s connection with the human mind, and solid technique to create a genuinely original body of work.
Resumé
Pamela Kirkham graduated from Kendall College of Art & Design, Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1976. There, she learned how to work in many different styles, including photo-realism and abstraction. From a class, which originally numbered 150 students, she graduated as 1 of 12 worthy of graduating as illustrators in her class. In 2010, she received her Bachelor of Science Associates Degree from the Art Institute of Pittsburgh with a 3.99 GPA.
From 1992-2000, she became very involved in her New Mexico community as a visual artist, an art educator through San Juan College, a vocalist, and a thespian. She was heavily involved with the Northwest New Mexico Arts Council between 1996 and 2000, ending her stint as President the last year.
Between 2001 and 2004, Kirkham lived in Enid, Oklahoma where she executed a dozen murals throughout the city in churches, businesses, and homes. She was one of 100 artists from all fields chosen to be an artist-in-residence through the Oklahoma (state) Arts Council. Through this program, she taught in public schools throughout Oklahoma from Kindergartners in Frederick to alternative high school students in Collinsville, north of Tulsa. Pamela’s designs for painting two, life-size, fiberglass bison were chosen by the Nature Conservancy in Oklahoma to be painted as part of a fundraiser to benefit the survival of Bison. One buffalo was commissioned by the Bank of Oklahoma in Oklahoma City and the other by the Harris Foundation, Oklahoma City, who donated it to the Enid Main Street Association.
In 2004, the artist returned to Michigan where she now works as a fine artist and art instructor. Recently, she participated as a 2014 and 2015 ArtPrize artist in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Through ArtBox.Project New York 1.0, her work will be shown on the large LED wall at the Stricoff Gallery, New York City, NY March 5-16th, 2018.
Education
Art Institute of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania – Bachelor of Science, Associates Degree in Graphic Design
Kendall College of Art & Design, Grand Rapids, Michigan – Graduated with major in Illustration
Exhibitions
The Buchanan Arts Center – Buchanan, Michigan
2015 ArtPrize Artist, Grand Rapids, Michigan
2014 ArtPrize Artist, Grand Rapids, Michigan
Artist-in-Residence – Oklahoma Arts Council, state-wide
Toh Atin Gallery – Durango, Colorado
The Artworks Gallery – The Woodland, Texas Illusions – The Woodlands, Texas
Nueces Street Gallery – Austin, Texas Toh-Atin Gallery – Durango, Colorado
Morgan Stanley Dean Witter – Farmington, New Mexico
West Chaco Gallery – Aztec, New Mexico
Nominated: New Mexico Governor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts
Art in Public Places, 1% for the Arts – New Mexico
Purchase: Mural, We Are One, by Bloomfield School District (Charlie Y. Brown Secondary School)
Purchase: Mural, Safety City Mural, by Farmington Police Department
Purchase: Original mixed media piece, Visitation of the Hopi Spirits, by San Juan College, Farmington, New Mexico
Awards
Southwest Biological Photographers’ Association Show – Albuquerque, New Mexico
Award: Best of Show
Award: First Place, Natural Science Illustration
Whirpool Art Exhibition – St. Joseph, Michigan
Award: Best of Show
Northwest New Mexico Arts Council Regional Juried Show – Farmington, New Mexico Award: Second Place, All Media
Riverfest – Farmington, New Mexico – Award: Second Place, Oils and Acrylics
Invited Juror
Totah Festival Fine Art Exhibitions – Farmington, New Mexico (five years)
Invited Artist
The Day Studio Group, San Francisco, California – Murals for renovation of the Enid Symphony Center, Enid, Oklahoma
Studied Under
Sandra L. Ringlever, Robert Divita, and Curtis Johnson – Grand Rapids, Michigan and Rob Hubble – Santa Fe, New Mexico
Selected Corporate/College Permanent Collections
Mitchell Energy and Development Corporation – The Woodlands, Texas
The Whitley Company – Houston, Texas
Color Tech – Dallas, Texas
San Juan Regional Medical Center and the Cancer Treatment Center – Farmington, New Mexico
San Juan College – Farmington, New Mexico
Selected Private Collections
Dr. Lynn Hayes, P.H.D. – Austin, Texas
Ms. Amy Symons – Denver, Colorado
Mr. Bill Marone, – Saint Joseph, Michigan
Mr. & Mrs. Rockford Coscia – Long Island, New York
Mr. Otis Halverson – Cheyenne, Wyoming
Mrs. Vern Schroeder – Aiken, Minnesota
Mr. and Mrs. Rick Breon – Iowa City, Iowa
Mr. & Mrs. Marvin B. Steinberg – Baltimore, Maryland
Teaching
The Box Factory for the Arts – St. Joseph, Michigan
The Krasl Art Center – St. Joseph, Michigan
Oklahoma Artist-in-Residence
San Juan College East – Aztec, New Mexico
Kirkham Fine Art Studio – Michigan, Oklahoma, New Mexico and Texas
Community Involvement
Northwest New Mexico Arts Council – Farmington, New Mexico: Served as President and Vice President
Anasazi, the Ancient Ones – Farmington, New Mexico: Played the characters of Effie Tate and Juanita Ingram with solos both years in this summer dinner theater/ historical musical
University Debs (musical performing group) – Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana
First United Methodist Church of Aztec, New Mexico – Choir Director and soloist