World–renowned and award-winning professional artist, Jim Denomie is admired for his colorful and expansive oil paintings, often 5’ x 7” to 9 x 12” in size, that capture his surroundings and the richness of his Ojibwe heritage in surreal style.
From the time he was six or seven years old, Jim Denomie knew he wanted to be a painter. As a tenth grader at Minneapolis South High School, he felt that he would not succeed within the school’s structure. Finding his strengths best suited for a fine arts high school, Jim shared the idea with his guidance counselor who discouraged him from pursuing this path.
Jim dropped out of high school. He worked in the construction business to earn an income and started on a journey of addiction. “I got into a life style of addiction for 20 years. I gave up art. My addictions were more consuming,” he says.
In 1989, Jim committed to sobriety and his future. In 1990, he enrolled at the University of Minnesota and graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts and Visual Arts and a minor in Native American Studies. “Now I had the degree I needed,” he says. “I was able to go back to dry wall to pay the bills, and I could paint the important stuff.”
Starting at the U of M and throughout his professional career, Jim has flourished in his painting style of storytelling which is woven into his Ojibwe heritage. “I started to paint what’s around me, providing mostly social and political commentaries”. Many of his paintings describe events in Native American history such as treaty rights, massacres of Native people, casinos, the Standing Rock protest, and other events that have been misconstrued or excluded in history interpretations of the dominant culture.
As a professional painter, Jim is also known for his “creative portraiture and erotic and spiritual landscapes”. In addition to painting, his work also includes photography, print making, ink drawing, found-object sculpture, and sketching. Jim will be publishing a book of his sketches in the not too distant future. It will consist of 170 sketches and short essays by a curator and a fellow artist.
Locally, Jim’s work is displayed at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts and Walker Arts Center in Minneapolis. His art is exhibited in shows at national and international museums. Last year, his art was exhibited in Sao Paulo, Brazil, an international material fair in Mexico City, and a group gallery in New Zealand.
Jim has been awarded seven major fellowships including the Bush Foundation, two McKnight fellowships, and the Joan Mitchell Painters and Sculpture Fellowship. In 2019, he was the recipient of the McKnight Distinguished Service Award.
Contributing his artwork to Art 4 Shelter for five years, Jim is passionate about the event’s support of people experiencing homelessness.
Decades ago, Jim’s lengthy conversation with two gentleman experiencing homelessness in San Francisco had a lasting impression on him. “These were the nicest guys you ever would meet. Respectful and polite. One guy was seriously depressed. He lost his job and couldn’t get back to work. I connected with these guys. … I see encampments whenever I travel. I try to help and do whatever I can. I’m in a position that I can help, and I’m grateful for that.”
Born in Hayward, Wisconsin, Jim grew up in South Minneapolis. He currently resides in Franconia, Minnesota.
Jim is an avid golfer, and he feels honored to be a grandfather. He finds joy in teaching his eight-year-old granddaughter how to paint in their weekly art lessons on Zoom.
Jim Denomie’s artwork may be viewed on his Instagram page at jim_denomie or his Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/jimdenomie. His artwork is available for purchase in the Bockley Gallery in Minneapolis and Commerical Gallery in Oregon.