Zimpel’s work 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’ fishing boat. It is recollection and recognition, an interpretation of traditions, fiction and history; an exploration of the terms of patrilineal relationships as he understands them.
Born in Saint Paul and raised in Minnesota, Zimpel moved to Chicago Illinois at age eighteen. He 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 ( Bard College ). For approximately ten years, Zimpel taught courses at Columbia College Chicago and managed the Art + Design Department’s Fabrication Facilities. In 2013, he accepted a tenure track appointment at Montana State University in Bozeman MT.
Zimpel is currently the Associate Dean of the College of Arts & Architecture and an Associate Professor of Sculpture + Extended Media.
Education
MFA Bard College Milton Avery Graduate School of the Arts | Sculpture
BFA University of Illinois at Chicago
Selected Solo Exhibitions
Aunt Dofe’s Hall of Recent Memory | Jim Zimpel / Rollin Beamish | Willow Creek MT | January - February 2022
Story Mill Park | National Juried Call + NEA Prize Selection | Bozeman MT | The Trust for Public Land + NEA Grant Recipient | Permanent Installation ( June 2019 )
ARTcade | Montana State University | Bozeman MT | Permanent (February 2018)
By The Will of the Waves | National Center for Contemporary Arts | Saint Petersburg Russia | 6/01/2014 – 6/30/2014
Old, New, Borrowed & Sometimes Blue | DeWeese Gallery | Bozeman MT | 1/20/2014 – 2/21/2014
I is the Grandson | Saint Xavier University | Chicago IL | 9/26/2012 – 10/19/2012
Angle | Chicago Cultural Center | Chicago IL | 8/17/2012 – 9/25/2012
By George | Second Bedroom Project Space | Chicago IL | 02/01/2010 – 03/01/2010
With Signs Following | Tropo Mfg. | Riverside CA | 12/12/2009 - 2/4/2010
Western | HungryMan Gallery | Chicago IL | 4/17/2009 – 5/24/2009
Range | University of Illinois at Chicago | Chicago IL | 12/11/2008 - 12/13/2008
Jim Zimpel | North Branch Gallery | Skokie IL | 7/9/2007 - 8/18/2007
Garden Variety | State Street Store Front | Chicago IL | 1/3/2004 - 1/14/2005
Selected Group Exhibitions
Tinworks Art | Bozeman MT | 07/27/2021 - 09/05/2021
Event Horizon | Hermitage Archive | Saint Petersburg Russia | 02/21/2021 - 05/09/2021
Across the Divide (4) | Holter Museum of Art | Baucus Gallery | Helena MT | 01/15/2021 - 04/18/2021
X-Quisite Corps | Delaware Contemporary Art Museum | Wilmington DE | September 2020
Rulers | Coco Hunday | Tampa FL | May 2019 - June 8 2019
Across the Divide (3) | Holter Museum of Art | Baucus Gallery | Helena MT | 1/18/2019 – 4/12/2019
Red Apples | 2019 MSU Faculty Exhibition | Bozeman MT | 1/7/2019 – 2/1/2019
Silver Streak Residency | Joan Giroux + Lisa Katori | Bozeman MT | 6/16/2018 – 6/21/2018
A House Divided | Horwitz Center for Visual and Performing Arts | Howard College Columbia MD ( Baltimore Metro Area ) | April 2 – 29, 2018
Equality Matters | Kemper Center for the Arts | William Woods University Fulton MO | March 18 – 31, 2018
ARTcade | Montana State University | Permanent Collection* | Bozeman MT | Permanent ( February 2018 )
Formech International Limited | Permanent Collection* | Harpenden England | Permanent Collection ( January 2018 )
Formech Inc. ( US Offices ) | Permanent Collection* | Middleton WI | Permanent Collection ( January 2018 )
Gabriel Canal | Scene Four | Set Design & Sculptures | River Road, Bozeman MT | August 23 – 24, 2017
Silver Streak Residency | Rebecca Mir Grady + Sonia Grant | Bozeman MT connects with Chicago IL | September 3 – 10, 2017
From Forest to Faucet | Spring Thirst ( MTA ) | Bogart Pavilion, Bozeman MT | June 23 – 24, 2017
Jundt Art Museum | Gonzaga University | Permanent Collection* | Spokane WA | Permanent Collection ( Added 2017 )
Silver Streak Residency | Steven Frost | Bozeman MT connects with Boulder CO | June 21 – July 1, 2017
Upstream | Float | Mountain Time Arts | Main Street, Bozeman MT | June 16 – 30, 2017
Silver Streak Residency | Erin E. Castellan | Bozeman MT connects with Asheville NC | June 4 –11, 2017
Across the Divide (2) | Holter Museum of Art | Helena MT | 1/20/2017 – 4/9/2017
Vicino ( two-person ) | Emerson Cultural Center | Bozeman MT | 12/9/2016 – 2/3/2017
Interrupted | Coburn Gallery | Ashland University | Ashland OH | 9/1/2016 – 9/25/2016
Silver Streak Residency | Raychael Stine | Bozeman MT connects with Albuquerque NM | 7/26/2016 – 8/04/2016
Faculty Exhibition | Copeland Gallery | MSU | Bozeman MT | 2/12/2016 – 2/25/2016
Medalta International Tool Show | Medalta Museum | Medicine Hat Alberta Canada | 9/3/2015 – 11/30/2015
Selected Works-International Group Exhibition | NCCA | Saint Petersburg Russia | 6/2015 – 7/2015
Keep Your Mind in Hell | Terraformer | Chicago IL | 5/30/2015 – 6/27/2015
U of M|MSU Exhibition | Archie Bray Foundation | Helena MT | 4/24/2015 – 5/23/2015
All About Porcelain | Clay Studio of Missoula | Missoula MT | 2/06/2015 – 2/27/2015
Untraditional | Made | Toronto Design Offsite Festival | Toronto Canada | 1/28/2015 – 2/28/2015
Across the Divide | Holter Museum of Art | Helena MT | 1/23/2015 – 2/25/2013
Ragdolls, Rocket-ships and Robots | Foundry Art Centre |Saint Louis MO | 12/6/2013 – 1/17/2014
Little Boy Pee Pool Party ( for Mannequin Piss ) | Antenna Gallery | Chicago IL | 10/11/2013 – 11/2/2013
More Than Naked | Loyola University Chicago | Chicago IL | 6/28/2013 – 11/2/2013
As You Are: A Decade of You Are Beautiful | Chicago IL | 2/7/2013
Resolution | Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago | Chicago IL | 1/4/2013
Starving Artist | Coalition Gallery | Chicago IL | 10/6/2012
ACRE / Expo Chicago Partner Gallery Tour | Chicago IL | 9/22/2012
Memory Address | Hatch Projects ( 2 person show ) | Chicago IL | 5/11/2012 – 6/1/2012
Graveyard | Terraformer | Chicago IL | 5/6/2012 - 6/09/2012
3rd Annual Design and Art Show | Dock 6 | Chicago IL | 5/4/2012
Benefit Show | Milk Gallery | Sacramento CA | 03/01/2012
Pine Feather Period | Coalition Gallery | CAC | Chicago IL | 11/04/2011 – 1/14/2012
Bard College MFA Thesis Exhibition | Bard College (UBS) | Red Hook NY | 6/30/2011 – 7/25/2011
Group Exhibition / Multiples Project | Trifecta: Issue One | New York NY 9/01/2010 –10/01 2010
Pentagon Saves the World | Pentagon Gallery | Chicago IL | 5/29/2010 - 6/19/2010
The Devil’s Barnyard | Happy Collaborationist Space | Chicago IL | 5/01/2010 –6/01/2010
39 Verbs Project | Packer Schopf Gallery | Chicago IL |10/11/2009 - 11/15/2010
The Art Institute of Chicago | Modern Wing Opening | Chicago IL | 5/01/2009 –5/31/2009
ORGANICISM, Nature Functioning Nontraditionally | C33 | Chicago IL | 3/5/2007 – 4/20/2007
God’s Punk | Hyde Park Art Center | Chicago IL | 2/4/2007 – 4/8/2007
You Are Beautiful | State Street Mural Project | Chicago IL | 8/26/2006 – 8/2008
18th Evanston + Vicinity Biennial 2006 | Evanston Art Center | Evanston IL | 5/28/2006 – 7/09/2006
There’s Work and Then There’s Work | Exhibitions Gallery | Chicago IL | 4/14/2006 – 5/05/2006
Tom Stack, Chris Kerr, Jim Zimpel | Open-End Gallery | Chicago IL | 10/15/20051 – 10/28/2005
Showcase 2004 | Columbia College Chicago | Chicago IL | 12/01/2004 – 12/15/2004
“Sketchy” ( A Drawing Show ) | Hokin Gallery | Chicago IL | 11/10/2004 – 12/12/2004
Walleye Gallery (Founded, owned and operated) | Chicago IL | 5/2001 – 12/2003
Soap Box Factory: Group Show | Walker Art Center | Minneapolis MN 6/1/1997 – 8/1/1997
Selected Visiting Artist | Guest Lectures
Bozeman Public Library | Silver Streak Artist in Residence Talks / Artist Lecture | 6/27/2017
Emerson Cultural Center ( Weaver Room ) Silver Streak Residency Presentation / Artist Lecture | 6/9/2017
Art & Money | Gallatin Art Crossing & Library Foundation | Panelist | 11/10/2015
MAEA (Montana Art Education Association) Guest Lecturer/Panelist | 10/2014
Pro Arte, ( Saint Petersburg Russia ) | Contemporary Art School Visiting Artist/Lecturer | 6/21/2014
University of Nevada Las Vegas, ( UNLV ) Guest Lecturer | 4/17/2013
University of Wisconsin, Stout, ( Stout, WI ) Guest Lecturer | 4/1/2013
Bloomsburg University, ( Bloomsburg PA ) Guest Lecturer | 2/18/2013
Saint Xavier University ( Chicago IL ) SXU Gallery Artist Lecture | Exhibition: I is the Grandson | 10/3/2012
The School of the Art Institute of Chicago ( SAIC ) Intermediate Sculpture | Instructor: Marissa Benedict | 9/14/2012