Kimberly Garland Artist
Artist Statement:
I see art as a conversation, or perhaps multiple conversations at once, occurring over time and through other people and art forms.
Since used/discarded materials are so integral to my sculptural work, I also see these conversations stemming from the items I use (for instance, the workers who made the plastic bottles, or the kids who handled/played with the toys).
Similarly, my work is a way to have conversations with my past and future selves, as well as those who share similar experiences and challenges. As a queer, middle-aged woman with an early history of sexual abuse/assault, sometimes my work is a direct conversation about these issues and how our society deals with or ignores them. It is a way to start conversations we don't want to have aloud that may be overt or lying just under the surface, transmitted through color, texture and intuition. I believe in art's ability to communicate beyond words.
About Witness:
This work is autobiographical, it is the story of journeying through a childhood in which I was sexually abused/assaulted and mentally tormented by my birth father. It is a healing type of remembering through the eyes of my child-self. This point of view is used to create a visual landscape of this journey. We (me, my child-self and my therapist) have created a metaphoric language, drawing upon animal work and visualizations. For instance, Hecate the great goddess guides us through crossroads and underworlds, symbolizing the guidance of my therapist, as we journey through the circles of hell and come out into the sun. We employ animals, goddesses, witches, talismans and many acts of magic to help this child find herself in a sea of trauma and fear, to find a sense of self in the weirdness and a sense of hope for the future.
Biography:
Kimberly J. Garland is a visual artist known for her assemblage sculptures using found objects and psychedelic inspired drawings. Her work is driven by a belief in the transformative power of creativity, art and play.
She was recently featured in the Every Woman Biennial at Pen and Brush, NYC. She was awarded first runner-up in the 2017 Festival of Fine Arts-SEABA juried competition in Burlington, Vermont, and was a finalist in the 2020 Global Eye Awards. Kimberly has participated in numerous juried shows and open studios and has also curated group exhibitions and performance art events.
I’m 2024, Kimberly published her first coloring book Cosmic Flowers (available on Amazon. She also has a line of jewelry available on Etsy.
Kimberly lives in Middletown, Connecticut with her cat, Stanley Shostakovich.
CV
Kimberly Garland
EDUCATION
M.S.W., August 2007, Smith College School for Social Work, Northampton, MA.
B.A., Psychology, May 2005, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT. Honors Scholar, Magna Cum Laude.
American Musical and Dramatic Academy, Certificate, 1997, New York, NY
Greater Hartford Academy of Arts, Diploma, 1995, Hartford, CT
TRAININGS
Master Workshops: Theater of the Oppressed
Facilitated by Julian Boal at the Theater of the Oppressed Lab, NYC 2009 & 2010. Techniques use theater games to facilitate groups. Applications include group therapy, classroom facilitation, conflict resolution, community organizing.
Has training in motivational interviewing, substance abuse counseling, trauma informed care, and experience working with people with developmental and physical disabilities and neurodiversity.
VISUAL ART EXPERIENCE
Recent:
Every Woman Biennial, Pen and Brush, NY, March-April 2026
Devine Feminine: Group Show at The CNTR, Middletown, CT, Summer 2025
Waitlisted: Spring Break Art Fair, LA, 2024
Visible: group show at The Free Center, Middletown, CT, October-December, 2021
Finalist: Global Eye Award, Startnet (online), in association with Saatchi, London, October, 2020.
Blues, online group show, The Plastic Club, Philadelphia, PA, August, 2020.
Hygienic Salon des Independants XLI, group show, Hygienic Art, New London, CT, February, 2020
Residencies:
Fall Intensive: Penland School for Crafts, Penland, North Carolina: 2 week intensive in small metals with instructor Maia Leppos, October, 2019.
smART Kinston City Project Foundation, Resident Artist: monthly open studios, artist talks and other community responsibilities, Kinston, NC, April 2018-October 2019.
Workshop with artist Lonnie Holley, Kinston, NC, April 2019. A two-day intensive sculpture and assemblage workshop lead by artist Lonnie Holley, which resulted in a new public art sculpture created collaboratively from found materials, by Mr. Holley and smart Kinston artists.
Public Art:
Diatoms of the Neuse River, a public art mixed media mural in the Mitchelltown neighborhood of Kinston, NC. Made possible by a grant from the smART Kinston City Project Foundation, Kinston, NC, May 2019.
Curator: Embodying The Female Gaze, a local group art show about womyn’s bodies, supported by a project grant from the smART Kinston
(Installation)The Intimacy of Hard to Reach Places,City Project Foundation, Kinston, NC, September 2018. at smART Pop Up Space, Kinston, NC, June 2019.
Don't Forget To Remember, preview at smART Kinston City Project Foundation Open Studios, July/August 2018. Supported by a grant from the North Carolina Arts Council and on view at smART Gallery March- May 2019.
Studio Member, 8 Space Arts Collective, Burlington, VT, 2010-2016. Awards: 2nd Place, Arts Alive/SEABA, Festival of Fine Arts Juried
Mess The Dress, Using a second-hand white wedding dress, participants (primarily young girls) used different media and paint to show free expression/reclaim object. Media included: paint, a Twinkie, a Yoo-hoo, a juice box, and Cheetos. 25th Annual South End Art Hop, SEABA/8 Space Arts Collective, Burlington, VT, September 2017 & Kinston BBQ Festival, May 2018.
Previous Juried Shows:
Red, Blue + White: Brookline Arts Center, Jurer: Camilo Alvarez, Brookline, Boston, MA, March 15-April 20, 2018.
Intolerance As Violence: Hera Gallery, Jurer: Ian Alden Russell, Ph.D, Wakefield, RI, April 7-May 5, 2018.
Vermont Stands With, Main Street Landing, Arts Alive/SEABA, Burlington, VT, April 2017.
The Fifth Crossing, Juror: Sharon L. Butler, at Hygienic Arts, New London, CT, April 2010.