"I STARTED MAKING COLLAGES IN ORDER TO TEACH MYSELF TO PAINT."
Over his 60-year career, Frank Wimberley has considered abstract painting to be an ongoing adventure. His work is characterized by a jazz-like improvisational style, blending spontaneity with deliberate decision-making. Wimberley’s career began in ceramics before he transitioned to painting, influenced by his background in music and the tactile qualities of materials.
Raised in New Jersey and educated at Howard University under prominent artists including James Amos Porter, James Lesesne Wells, and Loïs Mailou Jones, Wimberley has been active in the art scene on Long Island since the 1960s.
Throughout his career, Wimberley has adapted his artistic methods and expanded the vocabulary of his work, from early collages to recent explorations of materials and simplified compositions. His approach to painting, characterized by dynamic and fluid brushwork, reflects the freeform and expressive nature of jazz music. Just as jazz musicians create and respond to musical themes in real time, Wimberley employs an improvisational technique in his art, allowing the initial strokes and marks to guide the final composition. This connection is evident in his work's vibrant energy and unpredictability, paralleling the characteristics of jazz music.
Wimberley’s work continues to be recognized and collected by major institutions, including the Smithsonian, the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, and the Saint Louis Museum. His work has been featured in solo shows at June Kelly Gallery and the Islip Art Museum.
