Inger JIRBY
1942, Sweden

Inger Jirby’s life is as rich, dramatic and exotic as her art. She was born in the north of Sweden, above the Arctic Circle in Lapland, a place with blazing fall colors and great cultural traditions. Her earliest memories are bathed in a bright palette, the same colors that characterize her passion-filled paintings. She began painting as a young girl and never stopped. Her first hero was Van Gogh, followed by the big colorists, Bonnard and Matisse. Later influences included Braque, Picasso, Milton Avery and the abstract expressionists – artists who pioneered the emotional and spiritual power of color.

After a short stay at Konstfack in Stockholm, she moved to the Greek Island of Mykonos where she studied privately and, though still in her early 20’s began to support herself as an artist. Three years later she relocated to Paris, studied at the Ecole des-Beaux-Artes and had her first solo show in Paris at La Palette Bleau. From Paris she traveled to Venice, from Venice to the West Indies, then to New York. Once in the United States, she was called to the southwest where she lived and painted for several years in Santa Fe, New Mexico before finally settling to the north in Taos.

She has committed herself to this small town which is rich in artistic and cultural traditions – the perfect environment for her life and art. Here she has established the Inger Jirby Gallery on Ledoux Street in a gracious old adobe home, now in operation for 13 years. The gallery is, as she says, “the biggest adventure of my life,” though to meet the vast demand for her work she continues to send her paintings out to other galleries and exhibitions around the world. Her work is represented in six museums throughout the United States.

She is thrilled to be settled in Taos and surrounded by an incredible variety of different landscapes for her art. But for Inger, “settled” is a relative term; her thirst for color cannot be quenched. In search of new subject matter, she takes regular painting trips all over the world, most recently to France, Italy and Bali. In January 2010, she visited San Miguel de Allende and Taxco. This fall, Inger will have a solo show on the island of St. Barth’s in the Caribbean.

In the course of her travels Inger does far more than paint. With a restless intelligence and great curiosity, she immerses herself in the life and history of the countries she visits, pursuing interests in folk art, architecture, archeology and languages. The indefatigable artist is currently at work on her seventh language, Spanish.

EDUCATION

1962
Konstfack - Stockholm, Sweden

1963 - 1965
Private Studies with Luis Orozco - Mykonos, Greece

1965 - 1967
École des Beaux-Arts - Paris, France

1979-1980
Art Students League - New York City, NY USA

1984
College of Santa Fe - Santa Fe, NM USA

MUSEUM SHOWS

2000
West Valley Art Museum - Surprise, AZ USA

2001
Solo show at Roswell Museum of Fine Art - Roswell, NM USA


SELECTED EXHIBITIONS

1963-1973
Gallery Argo – Mykonos, Greece
Atelier St. Antoine – Paris, France
Gallery Norr Boden – Stockholm, Sweden
La Palette Bleau – Paris, France
Gallery Suecia – Stockholm, Sweden
Gallery Bevilacqua La Masa – Venice, Italy
Drian Galleries – London, England


1973-1983
Janis Gallery – Woodstock, NY USA
Kavaletten Uppsala – Stockholm, Sweden
American Scandinavian Foundation - New York City, NY USA
Bienville Gallery – Provincetown, NY USA
Collectors Gallery – New York City, NY USA
Chris Cole Gallery – Santa Fe, NM USA


1984-1994
Rein Galleries – Santa Fe, NM USA
Terrero Gallery – Santa Fe, NM USA
Sena Gallery/East – Santa Fe, NM USA
John Cacciola Gallery – Santa Fe, NM USA
Sena Gallery International – Santa Fe, NM USA
Sena Gallery West – Santa Fe, NM USA
Sena Gallery – Santa Fe, NM USA
Ventana Gallery – Santa Fe, NM USA


1995-2001
Betts Gallery – Santa Fe, NM USA
Waxlander Gallery – Santa Fe, NM USA
Inger Jirby Gallery – Taos, NM USA
West Valley Art Museum – Surprise, AZ USA
Roswell Museum – Roswell, NM USA


2002-2010
Inger Jirby Gallery – Taos, NM USA
Ventana Fine Art - Santa Fe, NM USA
Giacabbe Fritz Fine Art - Santa Fe, NM USA
Eden Rock Gallery - Nikki Beach, Saint Barthélemy, Caribbean


2011
Inger Jirby Gallery - Taos NM USA
One Artist Road - Santa Fe NM USA


PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS

Taos Gallery Association
Taos National Society of Watercolorists


COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES

Historic Ledoux Street Association
Taos Project Committee


LANGUAGES

Swedish, English, French, Italian, Spanish, German, New Greek


MUSEUMS

Inger Jirby’s artwork is currently in the permanent collections of the following museums:

Albuquerque Museum – Albuquerque, NM USA
Museum of Fine Arts – Santa Fe, NM USA
National Museum for Women in the Arts – Washington, DC USA
West Valley Art Museum – Surprise, AZ USA
Roswell Art Center – Roswell, NM USA
Harwood Art Museum – Taos, NM USA


COLLECTORS

INA Museum
CIGNA Corporation
American Scandinavian Foundation
Lois and Roland Betts
Anne & John Marion
Katie & Gerald Peters
Marianne Ohm Brody
Catherine Crier
Anne & Bill Crier
Ted Goldstein
Anne & David Kleinkopf
Jane & Tom Meaders
Maggie Kromer
Mr. & Mrs. John Greer
Kathy O’Shauganessy & Rex Hearn
Genie & Donald Rice
Gail Raleigh
Drs. William & Kathleen Johnson
Linda Headley

Source: http://www.jirby.com/