jimmy abegg
july 15th - January 21st, 2022
about the artist…
I was born and raised in western Nebraska. Although many would find little to love about the flat Nebraska landscape, it shaped me artistically and taught me to see beauty in simple things. For me, the high prairie grass, big open skies and The Sandhills are striking and unforgettable.
I fell in love with making art at age five and making music at age six. In each instance, it was obvious to me what I was made to do, as I quickly excelled past everyone else around me.
As a young, creative, free spirit living in an arguably boring area of the country, my love of making music and art where coupled to a sense of carefree adventure.
As a teenager my friends and I hopped freight trains. With not a care in the world, we would ride for hours and sometimes find ourselves hundreds of miles from home, with no thought given to how we would make it back home. I also hitchhiked routinely, once making it all the way to the Pacific Ocean. Although I didn't stay there at the time, I knew I would be back someday.
As luck would have it, my family left western Nebraska for Denver, Colorado in 1971 and then onto to California in 1973. There I studied art and music at American River College and then Sierra College.
In 1989, a career in music led me and my young family to Nashville, Tennessee.
Today, we still call nashville home and I am proud to say that the years have been generous and full. I have been given so many opportunities to provide for my family and care for others while creating things I love. Be it, playing music on the road, recording in the studio, making fine art, showing in galleries, designing record packaging, photographing musicians, writing music, or mentoring others on all of the above; my life of creativity has explored many mediums.
Over the past couple of years, macular degeneration has taken away the majority of my sight (I'll talk more about that another day). The good news is, I can still make art and plan to do so for a long time. In fact, some of my favorite pieces have been created during this time. I also have a lot of extra time on my hands now that I don't have to worry about driving or operating a computer...
Whether abstract or figurative, my painting continues the tendency towards curiosity, whimsy and simple beauty, with a healthy dose of train-hopping, carefree adventure.
- Jimmy A