Mr. Imagination / Gregory Warmack
1948 - 2012
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The incredible world of Mr. Imagination was “a work of art in
progress”. Saying this sums up the life of Gregory Warmack who was
in the act of creating art ever since he was a young boy growing up
on the South side of Chicago in a large family of brothers and
sisters. His mother was probably his first creative role model, and
from there his energies always focused on transforming his
environment into a work of art. Warmack’s talent was such that when
handed an object of any size or shape, he saw into the object things
that ordinary people don’t and can’t see. This extraordinary gift
manifested itself into the ability to change any lost or thrown away
piece of common material into a transcendent object by which new
life, vitality and meaning were reincarnated. Watching Mr. Imagination work was to experience the purest form of the intuitive process. He began only with the rawest notion of his final objective. His hands worked as his eyes. They felt each object knowingly and through the tactile senses he learned what it was about the material he needed to know to make it bend, reflect, and act in concert with the other accumulated artifacts. As any piece of sculpture of his took shape, it became clear that the process was been organic, flowing, natural, evolving with unique unpredictability. The act became the ritualistic performance of the shaman. Similarly, magically, new life emerged.
Perhaps the most significant element intrinsic to the Greg Warmack creation process was his belief in the spiritual energies possessed by his pieces which were infused both in the creation process and by the collaborative contributions of the spirit of people both living and dead. As the numerous labor-intensively placed pieces of objects, rubble, and memorabilia accumulated, so did the collective human spirit which simultaneously embellished and cemented the sum total of life experiences that were embodied in the life of this amazing artist and human being. Thank you, Mr. Imagination, for sharing your incredible vision of life with us.
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The Reflection Of My Soul (Totem) 2002 Mixed media 104 x 25 x 25 inches GW 948 NFS
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Figure Holding Staff , 2002 Mixed media 49 ˝ x 18 x 14 inches GW 962
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Throne 2002 Mixed media 101 x 27 ˝ x 25 inches GW 950 .
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Royal
Female Figure |
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Mr.
Imagination Sands of Egypt Hologram/ Lightbox |
MR. IMAGINATION/ GREGORY WARMACK
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2002 Material Transformation, Carl Hammer Gallery, Chicago, IL
2001 Mr. Imagination, Banana Factory, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA
2000 Mr. Imagination: New Works on Paper, Printworks Gallery, Chicago, IL
1999 Artist and the Community: Mr. Imagination, Southeastern Center for Community Art (SECCA), Winston-Salem, NC
1998 The Spirit of Unity, Carl Hammer Gallery, Chicago, IL
1996 Modern Primitive Gallery, Atlanta, Ga.
Gregory Warmack/ Mr. Imagination, Carl Hammer Gallery, Chicago, IL
1995 Mr. Imagination, University of Montana, Missoula, MT
Mr. Imagination, Wustum Museum, Racine, WI
1993 The Eye Stands For Mr. Imagination, Carl Hammer Gallery, Chicago, IL
1992 Mr. Imagination, Illinois State Museum, Springfield, IL, FOCI (Forms of
Contemporary Illinois), State of Illinois Art Gallery, Chicago, IL
Mr. Imagination, Sibell-Wolle Galleries, University of Colorado,
Boulder, CO
1991 The Eye Stands For Mr. Imagination: A Retrospective Show, University of
Illinois at Chicago, Chicago IL
1990 Mr. Imagination, Art Talk at Cairo, Chicago, IL
1986 Mr. Imagination, Carl Hammer Gallery, Chicago, IL
1983 Mr. Imagination, Carl Hammer Gallery, Chicago, IL
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
1999 The End is Near, Portfolio 99, Carl Hammer Gallery, Chicago, IL
1996 Society for Contemporary Craft, Pittsburgh, PA
The Intuitive Edge: Midwest Outsider and Folk Art, South Bend Regional
Museum of Art, South Bend, IN
Recycled-Reseen: Folk Art from the Global Scrapheap (Traveling show
through Spring 1999)
Recycle, Reuse, Recreate, African Tour
1995 Chicago Connectors: Ten Self-Taught Visions Intersect the Mainstream,
Carl Hammer Gallery, Chicago, IL
The Untutored Eye, Bristol Art Museum, Bristol, RI
From Africa to the Americas, Northwestern University Settlement,
Chicago, IL
1994 Reclamation and Transformation: Three Self-Taught Chicago Artists,
Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, IL
Resonances: Echoes of the Ancestors in African-American Art, Wabash
College, Crawfordsville, IN
Resurrections: Objects With New Souls, The William Benton Museum of
Art, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT
1993 Absolut Heritage, USA
1992 Mr. Imagination, Plymouth State College, Plymouth, NH
1991 Spirited Visions: Portrait of Chicago Artists by Patty Carroll, State of
Illinois Art Gallery, Chicago, IL
1991 "Evidence of Spirit", Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL.
"Images in Black: Memory and Spirit in African American Art", Carl
Hammer Gallery, Chicago, IL
"Home Sweet Home", Columbia College, Chicago, IL
"The Cross Show", First Presbyterian Church, Chicago, IL
"Black Art: Ancestral Legacy", Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond,
VA
1990 "Mr. Imagination and Willie Leroy Elliott, Jr.", Carl Hammer Gallery,
Chicago, IL.
"Black Art: Ancestral Legacy", High Museum of Art, Atlanta, GA and
Milwaukee Art Museum, Milwaukee, WI
1989 "Black Art: Ancestral Legacy", Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, TX.
(Traveling Show Through 1991)
1989 "Sculpture: Inside and Out", Carl Hammer Gallery, Chicago, IL.
1988 "Portrait from Outside", Massachusetts College of Art, Boston, MA.
1987 "Outsider Art: The Black Experience", Carl Hammer Gallery, Chicago,
IL
"Group Exhibition/Gallery Artists", Mia Gallery, Seattle
"Opening Exhibition", Primitivo, San Francisco, CA
1986 "Mr. Imagination/Philadelphia Wireman/Boneman", Oscarsson Seigeltuch
Gallery, New York, NY
"Group Exhibition", Janet Fleischer Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
1985 "Group Exhibition", Janet Fleischer Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
AWARDS
1997 Recipient of the Artist of the Year Award from the Folk Art Society of
America
1995 Recipient of The Children's Defense Fund Award celebrating success at
the Elliot Donnelly Youth Center Art Park for his continued work
with children from low-income families; award presented by Marian Wright Adamon.
SPECIAL PROJECTS
1999 Commission from the House of Blues in Las Vegas, NV to design and
create front entranceway installation for the Mandalay Bay site
1997 Commission from the National Blues Foundation Awards to design and
create the award for The Outstanding Performers of the Year
1997 Commission from the House of Blues in Orlando, Florida, to design and
Create the entranceway, The Unity Grotto
1996 Commission from the House of Blues in Chicago, IL, to design and create
installation for the Howlin’ Wolf Bar Area in the First Balcony Music Hall
1996 Completed an eleven foot Coca-Cola bottle cap sculpture for the 1996
Olympic Games in Atlanta, GA.
1995 Completed Meditation Grotto at the Elliot Donnelly Youth Center,
Chicago, IL
1995 Completed Chicago Children's Museum Park bench, Chicago, IL
VISITING ARTIST WORKSHOPS AND LECTURES
1996 Museum of International Folk Art, Youth workshops, creation of an “art
car" to promote Recycled, Re-seen: Folk Art from the Global Scrap Heap and Community Day, Santa Fe, NM
1995 TASA Conference, University of Texas at Tyler Lecture-- The Orange
Show, sandstone workshop
Chicago Hearing Society, Youth workshop at the Mayor's Office for
people with Disabilities
1994 Artist in Residence, Wabash College, Crawfordsville, IN
"Art Bench Project", Chicago Children's Museum
Milwaukee Art Museum, Milwaukee, WI
Arts Club Lecture, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, IL
1992 "Mr. Imagination", Sibell-Wolle Fine Arts, University of Colorado,
Boulder, CO
1991 "Family Christmas Tea", Field Museum, Chicago, IL
Milwaukee Museum of Art, Milwaukee, WI
"Evidence of Spirit", SIU, Carbondale, IL
1990 Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas TX
Milwaukee Museum of Art, Milwaukee, WI
"Outsider Art" Sponsored by Chicago Artists Coalition at Carl Hammer
Gallery, Chicago, IL
"Family Day", Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC
The Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, IL
Wencrest Nursing Home, Chicago, IL
1989 University of Chicago, Chicago, IL
School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL
1988 Illinois State Museum, Lockport, IL
Boys and Girls Club of Chicago, Chicago, IL
DuSable Museum of Afro-American Art, Chicago, IL
The Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, IL
1987 Boston College of Art, Boston, MA
Francis Parker School, Chicago, IL
St. Ignatius School, Chicago, IL
The Collins School, Chicago, IL
1986 Expressway's Children's Museum, Chicago, IL
1984 DuSable Museum of Afro-American Art, Chicago, IL
ARTICLES
Mr. Imagination Transforms Trash Into Treasures of Art, from VISTA
( Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum publication), 1997
The Fascinating World of Mr. Imagination, from VISTA, Vol. 6, 1997
Mr. Imagination Pounds Away on North Side, Chicago Sun Times, July 14,
1996.
Imagination Gives Junk Artistic Life, Journal North, Albuquerque, NM, Wed,
May 15,1996
Community Pride Builds Bronzeville Park, Chicago Sun-Times, Monday, August
26, 1995
Center gets rock-solid fun with whimsical art grotto, Chicago Tribune,
Wednesday, August 28, 1995
Partnership promotes exhibition and beautification, Spotlight Chicago, Week of
May 10, 1994, p.12
Recycled art helps support robbery victim, Chicago Tribune
Mr. Imagination to Show at Lockport Gallery
Visiting Artists Animate Crafts in the Minds of Illinois Children, Daily Egyptian
About face: self-portraits by Chicago Artists Chicago, March 1992
Absolut Big Break for these Two Chicago Artists Chicago Business, Aug. 12,
1991
For this Street Artist, the Eye Stands for Imagination, Colorado Daily Weekend,
November 13-15, 1992
DMA Exhibit Features Chicago Sculpture, The Dallas Weekly, 10/12/89-
10/18/89, Page 11
Trash becomes Treasure in the Hands of Mr. Imagination, The European
Connection, November 3, 1992, p. 14
The Wonderful World of Mr. Imagination, Outsider Art
Fest Art Brings Families Together (1B), The Journal Times, July 4, 1993
Chicago Trio Evokes Sense of Community in Terra Show, Chicago Sun-Times
Artist Has Found Celebrity Through His Own Brand of Recycled Images, Chicago
Tribune, Thursday, July 22, 1993
Stone carvings by Mr. Imagination Embody the Black Folk Art Tradition, Sun-
Times, Sunday, May 22, 1983
Mr. Imagination pays Tribute to the Jacksons Chicago Defender, Tuesday, July
10, 1984
He has a dream: Mr. Imagination takes first steps toward fame, Uptown News,
November 6, 1984
Sampling of Artworld Renders New Faces’ at the Clark Gallery, Lincoln Journal,
Thursday, July 9, 1992
Art Expo Promises to Be A Showcase for the Imagination, Chicago Tribune,
Friday, May 3, 1991 Section 7, p. 75
The Magic of Mr. Imagination, Springfield Magazine, February 1992
Mr. Imagination to Share His Secrets: Folk artist/sandstone Sculptor An expert in
Visual Story-telling, The Houston Post, Calendar Sept. 29 - Oct. 6, 1991
Treasure from Trash: Self-Taught Artists Recycle Their Way Through An
Exhibition Chicago Tribune, Sunday, April 17, 1994 p.12, Section 13
Making a Statement with Castoff Objects The Providence Journal-Bulletin, March
4, 1994(18)
Portraiture with Inventive Twists, Boston Globe, Thursday, July 16, 1992
Discards Pop Up in Artwork, Southtown Economist, Section E, page 1, Thursday,
June 11, 1992
GREGORY WARMACK / MR. IMAGINATION
The Spirit of Unity
The incredible world of Mr. Imagination is “a work of art in progress”. Saying this sums up the life of Gregory Warmack who has been in the act of creating art ever since he was a young boy growing up on the South side of Chicago in a large family of brothers and sisters. His mother was probably his first creative role model, and from there his energies have always focused on transforming his environment into a work of art. Warmack’s talent is such that when handed an object of any size or shape, he sees into the object things that ordinary people don’t and can’t see. This extraordinary gift manifests itself into the ability to change any lost or thrown away pieces of common material into a transcendent object by which new life, vitality, and meaning have been reincarnated.
Watching Mr. Imagination work is to experience the purest form of the intuitive process. He begins only with the rawest notion of his final objective. His hands work as his eyes. They feel each object knowingly and through the tactile senses he learns what it is about the material he needs to know to make it bend, reflect, and act in concert with the other accumulated artifacts. As the piece of sculpture takes shape, it becomes clear that the process has been organic, flowing, natural, evolving with unique unpredictability. The act becomes the ritualistic performance of the shaman. Similarly, magically, new life emerges.
Perhaps the most significant element intrinsic to the Greg Warmack creation process, is his belief in the spiritual energies possessed by his pieces which are infused both in the creation process and by the collaborative contributions of the spirit of people both living and dead. As the numerous labor-intensively placed pieces of objects, rubble, and memorabilia accumulate, so does the collective human spirit which simultaneously embellishes and cements the sum total of life experience that it embodies.
Selected ACHIEVEMENTS BY MR. IMAGINATION
Gregory Warmack (Mr. Imagination) – Orlando, Florida recently celebrated the completion and unveiling of “Unity Grotto”, an entranceway arch to the (Walt Disney World) House of Blues “Voo-doo Garden”. This concrete, rubble, and found object monument (see work-in-progress photo) commemorates the collective creative spirit of artists and public alike in their potential for stimulating the imagination.
Warmack was also commissioned by the National Blues Foundation of America to create four awards to be annually presented to a significant performer of Blues music. The award, appropriately titled B.B. King Blues Hero Award, is a guitar sculpture fashioned out of found objects, the first of which was awarded to B.B. King himself.
Additionally, Greg Warmack was recently awarded Artist of the Year at the annual conference of the Folk Art Society of America, held in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, October 8-10, 1997