Kim Nelson

Kim Nelson
Born	(1958-03-07)7 March 1958 Kiama, New South Wales, Australia
Died	12 August 2015(2015-08-12) (aged 57)
Spouse	Therese van Leeuwen

Kim Nelson (7 March 1958 – 12 August 2015) was an Australian artist. He lived and worked in the foothills of the Brindabella mountain range, near the Australian National Capital, Canberra. Themes such as the recurring 'Red Shawl' and other spiritually suggestive motifs put his artwork firmly in the field of Symbolism though his style does range from classical to the abstract.

Early years

Born in Kiama, Nelson grew up in a farming community on the New South Wales south coast. His artistic abilities were evident very early in his childhood, both in art and music. In 1976, on the suggestion of his uncle, Australian landscape artist Leonard Long, Nelson spent a year at the renowned Julian Ashton Art School in Sydney, studying life drawing. He subsequently embarked on a career in graphic design and advertising concurrent with a career as a singer/songwriter in contemporary music. He was to spend the greater part of a decade in this field.

This was followed by 10 years as manager/curator of historic house museums primarily for the National Trust of Australia (Cooma Cottage). In 1995 he was acting senior curator of Lanyon & Calthorpes' House in Canberra.

Fine art (1996–2015)

In 1996 Nelson retired from curatorial work to embark on a full-time career in fine art. He has staged many solo exhibitions and completed commissioned art for a diverse range of organizations and individuals from National Trust of Australia, Pan MacMillan Publishing, ACT Supreme Court through to international media magnate Rupert Murdoch. Upon opening Nelson's first Sydney exhibition, art investor and financial guru, the late Rene Rivkin stated in his address "I like it, I think you should buy it!"

In 2004, Nelson embarked on an artistic pilgrimage to visit the home of German Renaissance artist, Albrecht Dürer and to attend a major retrospective of the late Italian artist Massimo Rao staged at the Panorama Museum in Bad Frankenhausen, Germany. This trip to Europe inspired and informed three separate solo exhibitions in 2005 – 'Postcards', 'Icon' and 'Beyond These Shores', the last of which was officially opened by the Lord Mayor of Sydney, Clover Moore MP.

Since 2006, Nelson has been represented by United Galleries in both Sydney and Perth. In 2008, United Editions published 'NELSON – The Art of Kim Nelson' being the first published survey of Nelson's output over the period from 1996 to 2008 and included text by gallery director Robert Buratti and author Brian Caswell.

Charity

In 1994 Nelson gifted a major artwork 'Desert Storm' to UNICEF Australia for auction which began a period of association with this international humanitarian organization. He also created an edition print entitled 'The Gift' as another form of fundraising for UNICEF. Nelson has gifted art and design to many major and minor organisations and charities such as UNICEF, Hope for the Children (Rotary International), AMACC (Afghan Mother & Child Care), Koomarri Canberra, The Smith Family, NSW Volunteer Bushfire Brigade, Can Assist.

In 2013 Nelson was named Yass Valley Shire 'Citizen of the Year' in the Australia Day honours for his work in the community and specifically for the YASSarts initiative.

Personal life

Before his death on 12 August 2015 following a heart attack, Nelson was married with one daughter and lived near Yass, New South Wales with his wife Therese van Leeuwen. Nelson was blind in his right eye, the result of a congenital cataract at birth.

Representation

• Buratti Fine Art, Perth
• Kim Nelson Fine Art, NSW

References

Books

• Rubinov-Jacobson, Philip. Eyes of the Soul – Exploring Inspiration in Visionary Art and Artists. p. 780.
• Caswell, Brian (2005). Double Exposure. University of Queensland Press. ISBN 0-7022-3533-4.
• NELSON - The Art of Kim Nelson 1996 - 2008. United Editions, Australia.

Newspapers & journals

• Richards, Bill (February 1991). "Trust People – Kim finds a new career path at Hume's property". National Trust Magazine.
• Nelson, Kim (February 1994). "Ten years at Cooma Cottage". National Trust Magazine.
• Litchfield, Joanna (27 November 1994). "Haunted by visions of a fallen angel in a cruel society". The Canberra Times.
• Vincent, Jan (March 1995). "Artists in action". Australian Artist.
• Burgess, Verona (17 March 1996). "Irish 'orphan' girls now pride of Erin". The Canberra Times.
• Hopman, Sally (31 August 1997). "Artist inspired by his territory". The Sunday Times.
• Bennett, Rod (13 August 1999). "The full Nelson". The Manly Daily.
• Hopman, Sally (10 August 2003). "The National Trust co-opts an artist – A heritage picture". The Sunday Times.
• Yelland, Phillippa (30 September 2003). "Artist's brush with the past". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. Archived from the original on 18 April 2004.
• Nelson, Kim (October 2003). "Evolution of an artwork". Heritage in Trust Magazine.
• Hopman, Sally (28 August 2005). "An artist that doubles as a real journeyman". The Canberra Times.
• Emery, Kate (4 September 2007). "Kim's long art journey on display". The West Australian.
• Lord, Gillian (17 November 2007). "When art met life in charity". The Canberra Times (Panorama Magazine).
• Thistleton, John (16 September 2008). "Artist brushes aside recognition to help farmers". The Canberra Times. Fairfax Media.
• Buratti, Robert (August–October 2008). "The rise of the new". Australian Art Review.
• Sjostedt, Arne (19 November 2008). "From little things, big things grow". The Canberra Times. Fairfax Media.

Television

• 'Winter' exhibition 1998 WIN 4, Canberra
• 'Winter' exhibition 1998 CAPITAL 7, Canberra
• 'BeyondThese Shores' exhibition 2005 Inner City Community TV, Sydney
• The Art of Kim Nelson 2006 ABC Stateline, Canberra
• Yass body painting 1 June 2007 ABC Stateline, Canberra
• The face on the phonebook 21 September 2007 ABC Stateline, Canberra
• Art Boom 2007 ABC Stateline, Perth

Radio interviews

• 'UNICEF' & 'Irish Orphan Girls' project 1996 YASS FM
• 'UNICEF' & 'Irish Orphan Girls'project 1996 ABC 666 Canberra
• 'The Art of Kim Nelson' exhibition 1996 ABC 666 Canberra
• 'Into The Light' exhibition 1997, 2GB & 2CH Sydney
• 'Winter' exhibition 1998, Artsound FM Canberra (Bill Oakes)
• 'Conversations' 2003, Artsound FM Canberra (Bill Oakes)
• 'Oddfellow' exhibition 2003, YASS FM
• 'Conversations' 2004, Artsound FM Canberra (Bill Oakes)
• 'Back to the Sheep's Back' 2006 YASS FM