Jim Dine (b. 1935)

Biography
1935 – Born in Cincinnati, Ohio
1953-1955 – Studied at the University of Cincinnati and Boston Museum School
1957 – BFA Ohio University, Athens, Ohio
1958 – Graduate study at Ohio University, Athens, Ohio
Although often associated with both Pop Art and Abstract Expressionism, Jim Dine did not identify with a specific movement, producing a vast oeuvre of paintings, drawings, works on paper, sculpture, poetry, and performances. Emerging as a pioneer (together with Allan Kaprow, Claes Oldenburg, and Robert Whitman) of New York’s Happenings of the 1960s, Dine would carry the spontaneous energy of this movement throughout his style, which emphasized the exploration of everyday life. Personally significant objects were Dine’s primary motifs, as in his iconic series of hearts and robes. He championed a return to figuration after a period of more concept-dominated works, and is considered an important figure in Neo-Dada and a forerunner of Neo-Expressionism. “The figure is still the only thing I have faith in in terms of how much emotion it’s charged with and how much subject matter is there,” he once said.
1935 – Born in Cincinnati, Ohio
1953-1955 – Studied at the University of Cincinnati and Boston Museum School
1957 – BFA Ohio University, Athens, Ohio
1958 – Graduate study at Ohio University, Athens, Ohio
Although often associated with both Pop Art and Abstract Expressionism, Jim Dine did not identify with a specific movement, producing a vast oeuvre of paintings, drawings, works on paper, sculpture, poetry, and performances. Emerging as a pioneer (together with Allan Kaprow, Claes Oldenburg, and Robert Whitman) of New York’s Happenings of the 1960s, Dine would carry the spontaneous energy of this movement throughout his style, which emphasized the exploration of everyday life. Personally significant objects were Dine’s primary motifs, as in his iconic series of hearts and robes. He championed a return to figuration after a period of more concept-dominated works, and is considered an important figure in Neo-Dada and a forerunner of Neo-Expressionism. “The figure is still the only thing I have faith in in terms of how much emotion it’s charged with and how much subject matter is there,” he once said.