ABOUT JIM

I always knew that I wanted to be an artist. For more than 40 years it has been a gift, a curse, a passion. My studies at Purdue University (BA 1974 and MA 1976) emphasized 3-D: jewelry, metalworking and sculpture. After graduating, I started to make constructions—boxes, houses, temples—tiny stages where reality could be just a bit different. Eventually it was very frustrating to work long hours and move so slowly.

Drawing was much more satisfying. I could work faster and express many more ideas. Soon I was incorporating collage in my work, adding type and cutouts; tearing books apart.

One day I finally sat down and tried our little turquoise iMac and released a genie from the bottle. I came back every day to experiment.

Photography—and more recently painting—was much the same: Jump in with both feet—learn as you go. My images—and the media used to create them—are changeable. Sometimes realistic, sometimes surrealistic, sometimes abstract. Sometimes traditional acrylic or oils. Sometimes digital manipulation. A reflection of my experiences, a way to share what is happening in my life.

I work in the studio an average of 8 hours a day, seven days a week. I have learned a great deal over all of those days, months and years. I always have ideas swirling around in my head. One piece becomes a jumping-off place to another.

James Ferringer, self portrait, 2015

Studies

1974 Purdue University • BA (metalwork)
1987 Purdue University • MA (metalwork & sculpture)
1975 Apprentice for Gene and Hiroko Pijanowski • National Endowment for the Arts
1987 Artist Fellowship • Indiana Arts Commission
1988 Artist Fellowship • Indiana Arts Commission

Representation

Editions Ltd. • 1987–1992 • Indianapolis
Kay Garvey Gallery • 1987–1994 • Chicago
Galerie Hertz • 1991–present • Louisville
Artists' Own • 2018-present • Lafayette

Recent Exhibitions

2018 Visiting artist - Artist Own • Lafayette
2018 Art from the Heartland - Indianapolis Art Center • Indianapolis
2018 Painted Ground (solo) - Tippecanoe Arts Federation • Lafayette, Indiana
2017 39th Whitewater Competition (honorable mention) - Indiana University East • Richmond, Indiana
2017 catholicity (solo) - Tippecanoe Arts Federation • Lafayette
2016 Indiana Now - Lafayette Museum of Art • Lafayette
2016 Shanties (solo) - Art of Framing • Lafayette
2015 Dreamers Collection, Exposure Award Reception - Musee du Louvre • Paris
2015 Jim Ferringer (solo) - Pride Lafayette • Lafayette
2014 Louisville Photo Biennial - Gallery Hertz • Louisville
2014 Jim Ferringer (solo) - The Center on Halstead • Chicago
2014 Self Portrait Show - Tippecanoe Arts Federation • Lafayette
2013 Indiana Now (honorable mention) - Lafayette Museum of Art • Lafayette
2011 Enlightenment (solo) - Vitruvian Gallery • Washington, DC
2011 Michelle Feulner Castro & Jim Ferringer: Recent Works - Galerie Hertz • Louisville
2010 Jim Ferringer: Recent Works (solo) - Galerie Hertz • Louisville

Media
Jim Ferringer: Portraits • self-published, 40 pages
Jim Ferringer: catholicity • self-published to accompany solo show, 48 pages
OCIO magazine • Atmósferas masculinas de proporciones históricas • Issue 925, June 2015, page 32
tmf magazine • Jim Ferringer • Issue 14, Winter 2014/2015, pages 132–143
Divinity: Jim Ferringer • Monograph, Duality Books, Lexington, KY
The Naked Man Project (guest artist) • Jim Ferringer – Classic American Artist
Noisy Rain magazine • Jim Ferringer • Issue XXIV, Winter 2014, pages 41–58
Noisy Rain magazine • Jim Ferringer • Issue XIX, Anniversary 2014, pages 41–56
Vitruvian Lens – Edition 2 • Jim Ferringer • Firehouse Publishing, September 2013, pages 7–10
tmf magazine • Jim Ferringer • Issue 5, Summer 2012, pages 120–131