Project Description

b. 1942, Elgin, OK

Jim Waid creates abstract worlds saturated with color, layered with mark, filled with rhythm and movement, and intricately textured.  His canvases barely contain the landscape painted upon them; lush with growth they invite the viewer to explore the space.  The artist said of his work, “I don’t want the paintings to be like you’re looking at a landscape.  I want them to feel like you’re in it.”  Initially the paintings seem nonrepresentational, however, they slowly reveal themselves to be made up of organic textures, abstracted natural forms, and the desert landscape.   They convey a sense of nature, without the specificity of traditional landscape painting.

He is considered one of Arizona’s most celebrated painters and is included in the public collections of The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York; Museum of Fine Arts in Santa Fe, NM; Palm Springs Desert Museum; Tucson Museum of Art; Phoenix Art Museum; Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art; Arizona State University Art Museum; Indiana University Art Museum in Bloomington, as well as numerous other museums and corporations.  Jim Waid currently lives and works in Tucson, Arizona.

EDUCATION
1971
MFA, University of Arizona, Tucson Arizona
1965
BFA, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico
 
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2016
Terra Incognita, Bentley Gallery, Phoenix, AZ
2015
Natural Orders, William Havu Gallery, Denver, CO
2015
Jim Waid, Jean Albano Gallery, Chicago, IL
2014
Threshold: New Works by Jim Waid, Bentley Gallery, Phoenix, AZ
2013
Full Spectrum, William Have Gallery, Denver, CO
2013
Altered Scapes: Paintings by Jim Waid, Prescott College Art Gallery at Sam Hill Warehouse, Prescott, AZ
2012
Jim Waid: Recent Paintings, Jean Albano Gallery, Chicago, IL
2011
Songlines, Riva Yares Gallery, Scottsdale, AZ
2010
Jim Waid: Recent Work, Jean Albano Gallery, Chicago, IL
2008
Botanical Improvisations: Jim Waid Works on Paper, Temple of Music and Art, Tucson, AZ
2008
Natural Selections: Jim Waid Paintings, Louis Carlos Bernal Gallery, Pima Community College, Tucson, AZ
2008
Jim Waid: New Paintings, Jean Albano Gallery, Chicago, IL
2008
Jim Waid: Recent Paintings, Riva Yares Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
2006
The View from Here: New Works on by Jim Waid, Riva Yares Gallery, Santa Fe, New Mexico
2006
Jim Waid: Paintings, Jean Albano Gallery, Chicago, IL
2005
Jim Waid: Aviary – Sanctuary, Riva Yares Gallery, Scottsdale, AZ
2004
Jim Waid: Paintings, Jean Albano Gallery, Chicago, IL
2003
Jim Waid: Works on Paper, Terry Etherton Gallery, Tucson, AZ
2003
Jim Waid: In Full Spectrum, Riva Yares Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
2002
Jean Albano Gallery, Chicago, IL
2002
Jim Waid: New Work, Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK
2001
Groundwork: Drawings by Jim Waid, University of Arizona Museum of Art, Tucson, AZ
2001
Jean Albano Gallery, Chicago, IL
2001
Riva Yares Gallery, Scottsdale, AZ
2000
Bernice Steinbaum Gallery, Miami, FL
2000
Morgan Gallery, Kansas City, MO
1999
Jean Albano Gallery, Chicago, IL
1999
Riva Yares Gallery, Scottsdale, AZ
1999
Jim Waid: Organic Tapestries, Roswell Museum and Art Center, Roswell, NM
1999
Natural Abstractions: The Art of Jim Waid, Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, Scottsdale, AZ
1998
Prichard Art Gallery, University of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho
1998
Jim Waid: Gardens – Real and Imagined, Steinbaum Krauss Gallery, New York, NY
1997
Jean Albano Gallery, Chicago, IL
1996
Jim Waid: Natural Elements, Tucson Museum of Art, Tucson, AZ
1996
Pastels and Monotypes, The Temple of Music and Art, Tucson, AZ
1995
Riva Yares Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
1995
Milagros Contemporary Art, San Antonio, TX
1995
Riva Yares Gallery, Scottsdale, AZ
1994
Black and White: The Botany Lessons, Riva Yares Gallery, Scottsdale, AZ
1994
Jean Albano Gallery, Chicago, IL
1993
Eva Mannes Gallery, Atlanta, GA
1992
Stephen Rosenberg Gallery, New York, NY
1992
Jean Albano Gallery, Chicago, IL
1991
Riva Yares Gallery, Scottsdale, AZ
1991
Jean Albano Gallery, Chicago, IL
1990
Boulder Visual Arts Center, Boulder, CO
1990
Linda Durham Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
1989
Riva Yares Gallery, Scottsdale, AZ
1988
Shoshana Wayne Gallery, Santa Monica, CA
1987
Linda Durham Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
1986
Riva Yares Gallery, Scottsdale, AZ
1986
Wright Gallery, Dallas, TX
1985
Johnson Gallery, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM
1985
University of Arizona Museum of Art, Tucson, AZ
1982
Adam L. Gimbel Gallery, New York, NY
1981
Tucson Museum of Art, Tucson, AZ
1980
Riva Yares Gallery, Scottsdale, AZ
1978
Maggie Kress Gallery, Taos, NM
1977
Arizona Artists Series: Jim Waid, Paintings and Drawings, sponsored by the Arizona Commission on the Arts and Humanities, toured Arizona
 
SELECT GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2015
Livin’ Large: Works from the 1980’s, Tucson Museum of Art, Tucson, AZ
2014
An Unfolding Legacy, University of Arizona Museum of Art, Tucson, AZ
2014
Paper/Works, Bentley Gallery, Phoenix, AZ
2014
Winter Blues, Jean Albano Gallery, Chicago, IL
2013
Natural Seductions: Paintings by Jim Waid, Jame Abrams, and Robert Cocke, Etherton Gallery, Tucson, AZ
2013
Wild, Jean Albano Gallery, Chicago, IL
2013
Art & Environment, Roswell Museum and Art Center, Roswell, NM
2013
Western, not WESTERN, William Havu Gallery, Denver, CO
2012
small WORKS, Atlas Fine Art Services, Tucson, AZ
2012
Objects Extraordinaire, The Art Cnter, Highland Park, IL
2012
Thinking New Mexico: 2012 Art Centennial, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM
2012
Collecting Arizona, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ
2011
Limited Editions: Prints by Artists-Collectors, Luis Carlos Bernal Gallery, Pima Community College, Tucson, AZ
2011
The Paper Show, Jean Albano Gallery, Chicago, IL
2010
Check Up 1: Recent Additions to the MOTTU Art Collection 2005-2010, Museum of Texas Tech, Lubbock, TX
2009
Entering the Mainstream: Lithography of the 20th Century, University of Arizona Museum of Art, Tucson, AZ
2009
Art + Design: Etherton Invites, Etherton Gallery, Tucson, AZ
2009
Paintings @ Large, Phoenix Airport Museum, Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, Phoenix, AZ
2008
Big Stuff: Works from the Permanent Collection, University of New Mexico Museum of Art, Albuquerque, NM
2008
Pushing Paint Around: Selections from the Permanent Collection, Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, Scottsdale, AZ
2007
The Exquisite Snake, Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL
2007
Arts Botanica, Loyola University Museum of Art, Chicago, IL
2007
Out of the Garden, Rena Sternberg Gallery, Glencoe, IL
2006
Painting, Alive and Well! Eight Master Artists, University of New Mexico Museum of Art, Albuquerque, NM
2006
Loose Borders: Paintings Mediating Abstraction and Representation, Katharina Rich Perlow Gallery, New York, NY
2005
Flora et Fauna, University of New Mexico Art Museum, Albuquerque, NM
2004
Out of the Blues, Jean Albano Gallery, Chicago, IL
2004
Making the Scene, University of Arizona Museum of Art, Tucson, AZ
2003
Theater of Art, Riva Yares Gallery, Scottsdale, AZ
2003
Scape of the Land, Sisson Art Gallery, Henry Ford Community College, Dearborn, Michigan
2001
Prints and Plants, Morgan Gallery, Kansas City, MO
2000
Images of Nature, Phoenix Art Museum, Phoenix, AZ
2000
Inaugural Exhibition, Bernice Steinbaum Gallery, Miami, FL
2000
Green Woods and Crystal Waters: The American Landscape Tradition, The Phil Brook Museum of Art, Tulsa, OK
2000
Green Woods and Crystal Waters: The American Landscape Tradition, Exhibition Itinerary: The Philbrook Museum of Art, Tulsa, OK; John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota, FL; Davenport Museum of Art, Davenport, IA.
1998
Tribute: 20th Anniversary Exhibition, Joseph Gross Gallery, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
1998
Primary Colors, Jean Albano Gallery, Chicago, IL
1998
A Theatre of Art, Riva Yares Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
1997
A Gift of Vision: The William A. And Susan S. Small Collection, Tucson Museum of Art, Tucson, AZ
1997
Gold and Silver, Jean Albano Gallery, Chicago, IL
1996
A Gift of Vision: The William A and Susan S Small Collection, Tucson Museum of Art, Tucson, AZ
1996
Surfaces: Selected Gifts from the Collection of Mr. and Mrs. William A Small, Jr, Tampa Museum of Art, Tampa, FL
1995
Paint and Paper, Rosenberg/Kaufman Gallery, New York, NY
1995
The Language of Art: Res Ipsa Loquitor, New York County Lawyers Association, New York, NY
1995
Quartet: Four Artists in Monotype, University of West Florida, Pensacola, FL
1995
The Landscape: Seven Painters, Arizona State University West Art Gallery, Phoenix, AZ
1995
Creative Collecting: Gifts from the Collection of Mr. and Mrs. William A. Small Jr., Smith College Museum of Art, Northampton, MA
1994
Recent Acquisitions, Museum of Fine Arts, Museum of New Mexico, Santa Fe, NM
1994
Arizona on Paper, Galleria Mesta Bratislvy, Bratislava, Slovakia
1993
The Tenth Summer, Stephen Rosenberg Gallery, New York, NY
1992
Abstraction, Eve Mannes Gallery, Atlanta, GA
1992
Big Ideas – Large Scale Paintings, Tucson Museum of Art, Tucson, AZ
1991
Rocky Mountain National Park 75th Anniversary Exhibition, Boulder Fine Arts Center, Boulder, CO; University of Wyoming Art Museum, Laramie, Wyoming; Pueblo Art Center, Pueblo, CO
1990
Painting Divergence, New Mexico State University Art Gallery, Las Cruces, NM
1989
American Pastels- Recent Acquisitions, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
1989
Drawings, Members Gallery, Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, NY
1988
Arizona Biennial, Tucson Museum of Art, Tucson, AZ
1987
Pastel Anthology II, Grace Borgenicht Gallery, New York, NY
1987
Phoenix Biennial, Phoenix Art Museum, Phoenix, AZ
1986
Empowered Painting, Museum of Fine Arts, Museum of New Mexico, Santa Fe, NM
1984
Six Artists, David Olenick Fine Arts, New York, NY
1983
Santa Fe Festival of the Arts- Four State Survey, Santa Fe, NM
1982
Works on Paper, Adam L Gimbel Gallery, New York, NY
1981
Four Corners States Biennial, Phoenix Art Museum, Phoenix, AZ
1979
First Western States Biennial, sponsored by the Western States Arts Foundation, Selected Exhibition Itinerary: Denver Art Museum, Denver, CO; National Collection of Fine Arts, Washington, DC; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, CA; Newport Harbor Art Museum, Newport, CA.
1979
New Artists in New York, Alex Rosenberg Gallery, New York, NY
1978
20 Arizonans, Phoenix Art Museum, Phoenix, AZ
1978
Southwestern Biennial, Museum of Fine Arts, Museum of New Mexico, Santa Fe, NM
1977
35th Corcoran Biennial of American Painting, Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
1975
L.A. #1, Museum of Science and Industry, Los Angeles, CA
1973
Four Corners Annual, Phoenix Art Museum, Phoenix, AZ
 
SELECTED PUBLIC COLLECTIONS
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Phoenix Art Museum, Phoenix, AZ
Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, Scottsdale, AZ
Arizona State University Art Museum, Tempe, AZ
Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, Tucson, AZ
Tucson Museum of Art, Tucson, AZ
University of Arizona Museum of Art, Tucson, AZ
Museum of Fine Arts, Museum of New Mexico, Santa Fe, NM
San Antonio Museum of Art, San Antonio, TX
Museum of Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX
The Albuquerque Museum, Albuquerque, NM
J.P. Morgan Guaranty Trust Co., New York, NY
IBM, Montvale, NJ
Prudential Insurance Co., Chicago, IL
Phelps Dodge Corporation, Phoenix, AZ
McDonalds Corporation, Chicago, IL
Coca-Cola Bottling Co., Atlanta, GA
MGM Bellagio Hotel, Las Vegas, NV
Palm Springs Desert Museum, Palm Springs, CA
Indiana University Art Museum, Bloomington, IN
Oklahoma State Collection, Oklahoma City, OK
Utah Museum of Fine Arts, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, NM
Yuma Art Center, Yuma, AZ
Smith College Museum of Art, Northampton, MA
American Embassy, Quito, Ecuador, US State Department
Tampa Museum of Art, Tampa, FL
Superior Court Art Trust, Washington, D.C.
Champion International Corporation, Stamford, CT
Charles B Goodard Center for the Visual Arts, Ardmore, OK
Chemical Bank, New York, NY
College of Wooster, Wooster, OH
Coopers & Lybrand, Seattle, WA
Daum Museum of Contemporary Art, State Fair Community College, Sedalia, MO
Flint Institute of Arts, Flint, MI
Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK
JB Speed Art Museum, Louisville, Kentucky
Peat, Marwick, Maine & Co., St. Paul
Roswell Museum and Art Center, Roswell, NM
Salt River Project, Phoenix, AZ
Sprint USA, Kansas City, MO
Tucson International Airport, Tucson, AZ

Art ltd – “Threshold: New Works” at Bentley Gallery
Viewing a Jim Waid abstract painting can be an almost decadent experience. There is a tendency to linger in front of it, the better to gaze at the lushly colored suggestions of insects and flora, and to drink in the exuberant forms, patterns and textures. Waid parlays that exuberance into large-scale works, which were lavishly on display at Bentley’s spacious, restored red-brick warehouse.