CLARKSVILLE, TN – Now through the end of January, the Crouch gallery of the Customs House Museum & Cultural Center is filled with more than 100 pieces of art from the imagination of local artist Jim Diehr.
With this exhibition, Jim says he hopes his work offers meaning and enlightenment to the viewers – that each one is a world filled with colorful creatures, vibrant skies and exaggerated flora.
Jim has created more than 70 pieces within the past two years. The artist considers the piece Memories Lost in Time and Clouds as the anchor from which the survey of new works was born. He started the large crimson-hued painting over 50 years ago, and it incorporates all the elements that dance through the exhibition and the artist’s life.
Jim has worked in production design, furniture design and spent many years in art instruction. He is currently Professor Emeritus at Austin Peay State University (APSU). Diehr earned a Bachelor’s of Fine Arts in Studio Art and both a Master’s and Doctorate of Science in Education. Diehr has held positions as Professor, Chair of Art, Dean of Arts and Letters and Director of the APSU Center of Excellence for the Creative Arts. Internationally, Jim has been a Fulbright Scholar at Nottingham University, England, and Guest Lecturer at Lin Fen University, China.
“Every person viewing my work brings a unique and special set of life experiences from which they can visually plug into the virtual songs I have created,” Jim explains. “I want everyone to sing along with their lyrics based on my memories.”
Now at age 80, Jim focuses on watercolor, sculpture and oil painting in a studio just outside of Clarksville. Jim Diehr: Visual Songs, Many Verses is on view through January 30. For more information, visit customshousemuseum.org.