I was born in partitioned Berlin in 1964. I remember drawing a lot as a child and making animated movies with lumpy clay dinosaurs. I graduated from Indiana University at South Bend in 1988 and received an MFA from Western Michigan University in 1994 and have exhibited professionally for over three decades. My work is darkly humorous and melancholy in roughly equal measures.
I refer to it as art in a minor key.
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One- and Two-Person Exhibitions
2021
The Ghosts on the Shore – Gallery 900, Evanston, IL
2018
The Midnight Broadcast – 1100 Florence, Evanston, IL
2017
Mythic City – Towle Theatre, Hammond, IN
2016
Mysterious Creatures – Rogue Gallery and Art Center, Medford, OR
2012
The Errant Parade – Gallery 180, The Illinois Institute of Art, Chicago, IL
2011
25,000 Miles from Home – Kalamazoo Book Arts Center, Kalamazoo, MI
James Deeb and Linda Rivera – Vickers Theatre, Three Oaks, MI (two-person exhibition)
2010
From the Basement to the Attic – Southwestern Michigan College, Dowagiac, MI (two-person exhibition)
The Recurring End – South Suburban College, South Holland, IL
2009
Carry the Zero – The New Galleries, South Bend, IN
Saving Face – The Cliff Dwellers, Chicago, IL
2008
The Night and the Lonely Report – Substation No. 9, Hammond, IN
1999
Terminal Fahrenheit – Indiana University at South Bend Gallery, South Bend, IN
1998
Toxic Life – South Bend Regional Museum of Art, South Bend, IN
1997
The Sun Rises on the Matchbook Planet – Steelhead Gallery, South Bend, IN
Publications
2022
Artwork Archive –
The Meaning Behind the Monsters
Evanston RoundTable –
The Art of Making Art: James Deeb
2020
The Penn Review – Issue 70.2, 2020
Vasari21 – Under the Radar: James Deeb
2018
Voyage Chicago – Meet James Deeb of RFN Studios in Evanston
2017
Lunch Ticket – Summer/Fall 2017
Education
1994
Western Michigan University – Kalamazoo, MI, M.F.A. Degree with Emphasis in Painting
1988
Indiana University at South Bend – South Bend, IN, B.A. Degree with Emphasis in Fine Arts
Select Group Exhibitions
2022
79th Salon Show – South Shore Arts, Munster, IN
Dangerous Lullabies VIII – Lakeside Legacy Arts Park, Crystal Lake, IL
Deception of the Digital – Geneva Center for the Art, Geneva, IL
Visible/Invisible – Noyes Cultural Center, Evanston, IL
2021
Real People 2021 – The Old Court House Arts Center, Woodstock, IL
2020
Heaven and Hell – The Old Court House Arts Center, Woodstock, IL
2019
Breaking Criminal Traditions – The Gallery at Penn College, Pennsylvania College of Technology, Williamsport, PA
Things That Go Bump in the Night – The Center for Visual and Performing Arts, Munster, IN
2018
Apocalypse, USA – Columbia College Library, Chicago, IL
2017
Art in Common Cause: Chicago Edition – Hubbard Street Lofts, Chicago, IL Curator and co-coordinator
BAC: Fifth Annual Art Competition – Bridgeport Art Center, Chicago, IL
Positive/Negative 32 – Slocumb Galleries, East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, TN
Unpresidented: Art in Common Cause – SPACE 900, Evanston, IL Curator and co-coordinator
2016
Art for Social Change: Behind the Wall – Oak Park Art League, Oak Park, IL
Petite – Emerge Art Gallery, Saugerties, NY
2015
Contemporary Portraits – The Art Center, Batavia, IL
2014
Apocalypse Salon – The Art Center, Batavia, IL
BRAIN-ART Initiative – Beverly Art Center, Chicago, IL
2013
70th Salon Show – South Shore Arts, Munster, IN
Humans – Midtown Gallery, Kalamazoo, MI
2012
The Rockford Midwestern Biennial – Rockford Art Museum, Rockford, IL
2011
35th Beverly Art Competition and Exhibition – Beverly Arts Center, Chicago, IL
Select Honors & Awards
2022
79th Salon Show – South Shore Arts, Munster, IN – Marti Woodward Memorial Award
2013
70th Salon Show – South Shore Arts, Munster, IN – Orval O. & Margaret C. Haag Memorial Award
2011
35th Beverly Art Competition and Exhibition – Beverly Arts Center, Chicago, IL – Merit Award
1995
Walter Enz Award
1994
Oxbow School of Painting Scholarship
1988
Received Honors Certificate with B.A. Degree