Curated exhibits by Josef Zimmerman at the Fort Wayne Museum of Art.
The ArtScene was this last weekend and while Yis Goodwin was in town. Yis was kind enough to bestow Fort Wayne with an amazing mural to help promote “Biological Canvas” and art in general. It was a great experience and I am looking forward to the next time.
Everything is coming together and I hope to see you all out on April 5th at 6 for the ArtScene with Yis Goodwin, Justin Henry Miller, and I. Food, booze, and good times will be had.
I am proud to announce my newest curatorial endeavor, “Biological Canvas” at the Fort Wayne Museum of Art. The exhibit opens on March 15th and will be up till June 22nd.
I will let the FWMoA summarize the exhibit for me since they put it so eloquent:
This is the second exhibition guest curated by the contemporary art curator Josef Zimmerman, the man who traveled the country in search of the most the eye-popping, chromatically adventurous contemporary art for the group show Brilliant Optics. This time, Zimmerman has discovered another intriguing trend in contemporary art: the tendency to reference biology—animals, natural processes, human systems, and other elements of the natural world—in the context of contemporary culture. Three artists leading this trend will be featured in this exhibition: Yis “Nosego” Goodwin, Justin Miller, and Scott Teplin, all who push the boundaries of graphic manipulation of organic subjects.
The weeks roll by and projects come and go without proper documentation or realization. Here comes a major text heavy post full of all sort of bits of news.
Grawlix:
As an exercise as a curator I have been working with other galleries to get a feel for what and how they work. Wunderkammer Gallery is the next institution in this process. The title of the exhibit is ‘Grawlix.’ The show title is defined as such:
The theme behind the show rotates around the frustration that artists feel in and around their art. That frustration could be focused at themselves, their art, the viewer, or the world.
I will be participating as an artist in this exhibit as well. I have been working on an installation that has been in my brainpan for awhile. More process shots and a video will be coming shortly.
‘Grawlix’ will open on October 25th at Wunderkammer from 7 to 10 with a performance by Heaven’s Gateway Drugs at 9.
Red Tides of the Mind:
With all the hustle of the curating/travel/day job I have realized that a solo show of my work has been absent for quite some time. Worry not reader. The wait is over. On November 11th at Dash-in I will be displaying my latest work ‘Red Tides of the Mind.’ The exhibit will have several new processes that I have been working on. Working on the frames, scanning film, and making hard decisions. More to come
Collaboration and Exercises:
In an attempt to exercise my brain I have been collaborating with Dave Lough. Four canvases were constructed and rules for exchanging the pieces put in place. The experiment has been a helpful release and assisted in letting me play without begin to serious. This team-up may or may not result in an exhibit. That is a minor detail in what is really happening with this project. Here is a piece that has been passed back and forth several time and getting ready to go under the knife again.
Fort Wayne Museum of Art:
The last and hardest item to discuss is my upcoming exhibits with the FWMoA. Several exhibits are in the works and the gears are all turning in the right direction. That is all I can say at the moment. Stay tuned for more.
I just wanted to inform everyone that the FWMoA bought the “Brilliant Optics” exhibit that I curated and are going to promote and tour it for the next three years. This is amazing to me and cannot thank everyone enough who came and supported the exhibit. Fort Wayne just became a better place to be.
Installation shots by Jason Swisher
O wow. The exhibit at the Fort Wayne Museum of Art opened last night to a great eager crowd. I could not be happier for this.
We all had a great time and the panel discussion went very well. 
I am a tired and exhausted. My body is wrecked and the mind is warped. I cannot wait to do it all again.
Thanks to all who came out.
Exhibit installation photography by Daniel Dienelt
‘Brilliant Optics’ is an exhibit I have been working/curating for the last 10 months for the Fort Wayne Museum of Art. This bad boy has been a labor of love for sure. This will be a must see exhibit for midwesterns. International, national, and regional artist are exhibiting their art in humble Fort Wayne.
There will be a artist/curator panel discussion at the opening. Hear our thoughts and watch us get drunk on stage. There will be a cash bar and free food. Cannot beat that without making a mess.
Josef Zimmerman 
