Jesse Krimes (born 1982 in

Lancaster, Pennsylvania Lancaster ( ) is a city in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 58,039 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, eighth-most populous ci ...

) is an American artist and

curator A curator (from , meaning 'to take care') is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the particular ins ...

, who focuses on

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and contemporary perceptions of

criminality In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in Cane ...

Career

In 2009, after graduating from

Millersville University Millersville University of Pennsylvania (commonly known as Millersville University, The Ville, or MU) is a public university in Millersville, Pennsylvania. It is one of the ten schools that comprise the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Educa ...

, Krimes was arrested for cocaine possession. While awaiting sentencing for possession of cocaine with intent to distribute, he spent a year in solitary confinement. It was during this time that Krimes decided "to create something positive in the world”. During this time, he devised a way using hair gel and toothpaste to hand-transfer images of individuals labeled as offenders in newspapers onto 292 bars of prison-issued soap. The soap bars were then embedded into carved playing cards to examine an array of issues, including the failures of the American justice system. He then shipped them discreetly out of prison. This ultimately became ''Purgatory'' (2009), which was on view at

The Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the third-largest museum in the world and the largest art museum in the Americas. With 5.36 million v ...

in New York. He was sentenced to six years in prison, and subsequently served five years. In his last three years of his sentence, he was able to gain access to art supplies and was able to produce numerous pieces and mentor others. Krimes explained that “artwork facilitated conversation" and humanized him to some of the guards.” Upon his release he co-founded Right of Return USA, a fellowship program to support previously incarcerated artists. In 2016,

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settled a lawsuit with Krimes, acting as plaintiff, for charging exorbitant fees for a debit card program that was supposed to help released inmates. Krimes has collaborated and received public commissions with a focus on prison reform including

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...

Ford Foundation The Ford Foundation is an American private foundation with the stated goal of advancing human welfare. Created in 1936 by Edsel Ford and his father Henry Ford, it was originally funded by a $25,000 (about $550,000 in 2023) gift from Edsel Ford. ...

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, and the City of Philadelphia Mural Arts’ Restorative Justice program, to name a few. Krimes was awarded fellowships by Robert Rauschenberg Foundation in 2017, the Independence Foundation in the same year, and the Ford Foundation’s Art For Justice initiative in 2018. Krimes is represented by Burning in Water Gallery in New York. Krimes was the subject of the 2021

documentary A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

film ''Art & Krimes by Krimes,'' directed by

Alysa Nahmias Alysa Nahmias is an American filmmaker and the founder of Ajna Films. Life Nahmias is originally from Tucson, Arizona. She holds degrees from The Gallatin School of Individualized Study at New York University and Princeton University. She is ma ...

Work Chronology

Selected chronology of showcased artwork. * ''The Space Between'' (2006) * ''Coercion'' (2008) * ''Apokaluptein:16389067'' (2014) artist * ''Amnesty International Commission'' (2015) * ''Marking Time in America: The Prison Works (2009-2013)'' (2016) solo show for artist * ''Deus Ex Machina'' aka ''God from the Machine'' (2016) * ''Stones, Zips, and Remnants; AP. Voices'' (2017) * ''Portraits of Justice'' (2018), co-curator with Russell Craig, artist, City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program * ''Museum of Broken Windows'' (2018) artist * ''Prison Nation'' (2018), artist * ''The OG Experience'' (2019), co-curator with Russell Craig, artist * ''Emanation 2019'' (2019) artist * ''Art as Freedom'' (2019) artist * ''American Rendition'' at Malin (2020) * ''Elegy Quilts.'' (2021)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Krimes, Jesse 1982 births Artists from Philadelphia American installation artists Living people