Meet Kim Manfredi | Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Kim Manfredi and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kim, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking
Every day I find a new way to fail flamboyantly.

Willingness to experiment through taking risks is what allows me to try new things, build projects beyond my imagination and discover capabilities beyond my belief.

There is no way I could have become a full time artist if I wasn’t willing to take a chance on myself.

I take risks with my painting daily. It keeps me interested. A new color or brush can change everything.

This continual experimentation creates a fluency with the discomfort surrounding the unknown. Going into that unknown creates heat, I can feel it in my body. I tingle with an energy.

I enjoy taking risks. I like the process of measuring consequential outcomes and deciding whether an experiment is worth trying.

If it is worth trying, I know I can’t lose. If my experiment fails, I grow. If it succeeds, I grow.

Risk taking keeps my art fresh and true.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I graduated from Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) with a BFA in 1988 and then worked as a skilled decorative painter for many years. I returned to MICA and graduated with an MFA in Fine Art in 2009 and moved to the Palm Springs area in 2016.

The Pandemic inspired a period of experimentation in which I began applying paint in a free, liberating and abstract way. I am an enthusiastic cyclist who rides daily with friends through the valley and into the mountains. These journeys power my artistic vision and provide the raw materials for new paintings.

I apply marks: loosely drawn rock formations and painted ridge lines that twist and turn building my language of abstraction. On the road, I witness the world a through the glimpse. This partial view is represented by veils, edges, and erasure I make with paint. The partial view is the subject of my painting.

I believe that no matter how sure we are about our perspective, exploration, understanding and creativity will help us to remember we are really only given a glimpse of this great existence.

After graduating MICA, I was represented by C. Grimaldis Gallery, 2009 – 2013 and now work with several west coast galleries and art non profit spaces. I have attended residencies at the Vermont Studio Center, VCCA, Maryland Art Place and most recently a portfolio reviewed workshop at Anderson Ranch. I show my work at various venues in the California and am a founder of the Desert Open Studios Tour.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
If you’re visiting me, first day is Palm Springs, second LA, third Joshua Tree and fourth is The Salton Sea. After that I need to get to my studio….. so you can hang by the pool..

day 1. Palm Springs Museum: Mortens Botanical Garden, Indian Canyons and Bar Cecil for dinner.

day 2. LA museums and galleries: whatever looks best. La Brea Tar Pits, Fruit from a cart for lunch. The Luggage Room in Pasadena for pizza on the way home.

day 3. Joshua Tree, enter through Box Canyon and drive the park leaving through the west gate. We can stop for a hike at Jumbo Rocks. Head to La Copine for lunch then to the orchid farm in Landers. Possible afternoon art happenings: BoxoPROJECTS, Hey There Projects and Noah Purifoy Foundation. Finally Pappy and Harriets for some refreshment and music before heading home.

day 4. Head east, Bombay beach, The Salton Sea, Salvation Mountain and East Jesus. Pack a picnic because theres nothin to eat out there…..I mean nothing. Stop at Salsa in Cathedral City on the way home.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I have been helped so much along the way

mostly by my husband Chris Blades

My teachers: Joyce Kozloff and Grace Hartigan

My gallerists: Bernard Leibov, BoxoPROJECTS
Jet Wang, Gong Gallery
Jorge Mendez, Jorge Mendez Gallery
Danielle Fox, Slate Contemporary

and William Schinsky director of the Coachella Valley Art Center

Website: www.kimmanfredi.com

Instagram: @kimmanfredi https://www.instagram.com/kimmanfredi/?hl=en

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kim.manfredi.18/