Kim de Garis
“I see an understanding of the people she cares so deeply about in her work, which in and of itself, is a great start to building curiosity and respect for other cultures and different ways of life.”
— Sandra Botnen, curator
“It is the most simple and beautiful experience. Going to fetch water is something to stop and enjoy.”
Day 25 introduces artist Kim de Garis who’s canvasses are free, and sometimes naïve. But more often they are an unbridled exploration of color and texture. Her biggest inspirations are the textiles of Turkey, nomadic people and the beautifully hand-made objects used in daily nomadic life.
“Ever since I was a child I wanted to go to Mongolia,” she says. But recently, Kim says has been distracted by politics and can’t say exactly where it is taking her in terms of her art. “I am interested in “outsiders” and I’m a huge defender of Muslims and Kurds - people who are misunderstood while extremists get all the attention,” she says.
If she could be dropped anywhere on the planet, de Garis says it would be among these people she cares to defend. “And then when I die,” she adds,“if I could, I would have my body set into the desert hillside of Mongolia where my body could dehydrate until there was nothing left but clean white bones.” “And it doesn’t take that long,” she adds.
Two consecutive summers Kim de-Garis lived with the Yoruk People of Southern Anatolia, Turkey. To this day she remains touched by the lifestyle. “It is the most simple and beautiful experience. Going to fetch water is something to stop and enjoy. I don’t feel we have the time to spend on beautiful things anymore,” she says. I can’t tell if she is still talking about intricate ornate textiles or simple pleasures like watching light bouncing off a stream the water as it pours into a bucket. I suspect all of it - time slowing down in general so that each moment becomes something to behold.
Today she lives in New Jersey in a home she refers to as “special”. “You just have to see it,” she says, describing it as having a more Asian aesthetic than Turkish or Middle Eastern. I definitely want to visit because I sense a world suspended in time causing you to breath more deeply. There are hardly words to describe the beauty and satisfaction of a deep, full breath.
Much of my conversation with Kim was about the qualities she nurtures in her daily life as it has been inspired by the nomads. But I can see it all in her paintings too. With the exception of these fun and fantastic safety pin earrings, her work does not appear formally inspired by the intricate stitching of Yoruk textiles, it seems more like the freedom of breath and generosity of color that shows up on the canvass.
I question whether de Garis’ current creative trajectory will become overtly political since political issues are occupying her thoughts these days. Irregardless, I see an understanding of the people she cares so deeply about infused in her work, which in and of itself, is a great start to building curiosity and respect for other cultures and different ways of life.