The Artist

Dean Nimmer established his career in the fine arts in 1970. Starting out as an installation artist with shows at the Museum of Fine Arts and the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston, he gradually moved to the arenas of abstract painting, drawing and printmaking by the mid 1980s. In the spirit of his installation works, Dean exhibited a series of 1000 drawings that were displayed together in a 150 foot compendium at the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design in 1995. The popularity of this work led to shows from the 1000 Drawings series in Australia, Ireland, Spain, Japan, and China as well as exhibits in many galleries and universities in the US. His work continues to inspire the interest of museums and collectors from around the world. A catalog of Nimmer's works on paper created for the 1000 Drawings project is available on this website.

Dean Nimmer is also well known as a teacher in the field of the fine arts. At the Massachusetts College of Art, where he taught from 1970 to 2004, Nimmer developed unique approaches to teaching the making of abstract art, which he calls "intuition painting". The "Flash" video to the right shows an excerpt from his "Intuition Painting" seminar offered at the Central Academy of Art and Design in Beijing China in 1999.

Listed below are some of the galleries and museums that have shown the art of Dean Nimmer. Also listed are colleges and private institutions that have invited Mr. Nimmer to be a visiting artist or to conduct seminars in painting, drawing and creativity techniques.

Selected Exhibitions USA, Europe and Asia:

International Print Center, New York City
The Drawing Center, New York City
Central Academy of Art, Beijing, China
Museum Haus Kasuya, Yokusaka, Japan
Royal Melbourne Inst. of Tech., Melbourne, Australia
Western Sydney University, Sydney, Austrailia
Sidney College of the Arts, Sidney, Australia
Panorama Galeria, Barcelona, Spain
La Laiterie Exposition, Strasbourg, France
Stapelhaus Museum, Cologne, Germany
DeCordova Museum, Lincoln, MA
Danforth Museum, Framingham, MA
Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, MA
James Madison University, Harrisonberg, VA
Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN

Selected Public and Private Collections:

Smith College Museum of Art, Northampton, MA
New York Public Library, New York City
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA
DeCordova Museum, Lincoln, MA
Nassau County Museum, Long Island, NY
Harvard University, Cambridge, MA
Peabody/Essex Museum, Salem MA
Plaza Hotel, New York City
Museum Haus Kasuya, Yokosuka, Japan
Burren College of Art, County Clare, Ireland
Milwaukee Art Institute, Milwaukee, WI
Smithsonian Archives, Washington D. C.
Chemical Bank, New York City
Gamblin Artist' Colors, Portland, OR

Awards:

Marion and Jasper Whiting Foundation, Grant
Massachusetts Cultural Foundation, Grant
Kao Foundation for Arts and Sciences, Grant
National Endowment for the Arts, Grant
National Endowment for the Arts, Fellowship
Massachusetts Artists Foundation, Grant
Contemporary Artists Center, Fellowship

Consulting/Visiting Artist:

Central Academy of Arts and Design, Beijing, China
Museum Haus Kasuya, Yokosuka, Japan
Drawing Center, New York City
Ecole des Arts Decoratifs, Strasbourg, France
Chelsea College of Art and Design, London, England
Burren College of Art, County Clare, Ireland
Nova Scotia College of Art, Halifax, N.S.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA
Harvard University, Cambridge, MA
Yale University, New Haven, CT
Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA
Center for Advanced Visual Studies, Cambridge, MA
James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA
Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, MA

Teaching:

Dean Nimmer is Professor Emeritus of the Massachusetts College of Art in Boston where he taught painting and drawing from 1970 to 2004. During his tenure at Mass Art, Dean Nimmer was Chairman of the departments of Painting and Printmaking and the Freshman Foundations programs. Curently, Dean continues part-timeteaching at the Holyoke Community College, in Holyoke, MA

Baroques:

And yes, it's true that this is the same Dean Nimmer who was the drummer in the psychedelic rock group The Baroques, the first white group on Chess Records c.1967!