Frank Wimberley US, b. 1926
"At 94 years old, Wimberley is still uncovering surprises in an expanding body of work infused with bold colors and dramatic, gestural strokes. In a career that has spanned more than 50 years, and that includes paintings, sculptures, and ceramics, he’s managed to embrace the creative process as a continuous adventure."
- Troy McMullen, ABCNews, 2021
Born in Pleasantville, New Jersey, in 1926, painter Frank Wimberley wcurrently resides in New York City and Sag Harbor with his wife, Juanita, where he continues to work.
Frank Wimberley studied with James Porter, Lois Mailou and James Wells at Howard University. While studying at Howard, Wimberley also played jazz which led to a friendship with musicians such as Miles Davis, Ron Carter and Wayne Shorter.
Wimberley is a self-described Abstract Expressionist, applying his paints shade by shade, brushstroke by brushtroke, to create what he has termed a “controlled accident.” His compositions of overwhelming color, endless depth, size, and palpable texture seek an emotional response from the viewer.
Wimberley's jazz background influencing his art -- which has been compared to both John Coltrane’s surging sheets of music and Miles Davis’s delicately woven tapestries of sound. In his paintings, movement meets melody, intellect meets instinct.
During his career, Wimberley experimented with many forms of abstraction - as well as with sculpture and photography. In the end, he changed from oils to acrylic so he could see the end product quickly and then began implementing a thick impasto.
He has said: “I like using a big, floppy brush to get the movement in the paint,” said Mr. Wimberley, who also does a lot of woodwork, which meant that his small studio in Queens was always full of sawdust, “so I added the sawdust to the paint to give it more body.”
