Around 2009, Jesse Krimes was sent to solitary confinement pending trial on drug charges. He had recently graduated from Millersville University of Pennsylvania with an art degree and spent his freshman year at Fairton Federal Correctional Institution. “The one thing they couldn’t take away or control was my ability to create,” he says.
Like many incarcerated artists, Krimes had to give up the luxury of a pristine canvas and a set of paints. Instead, he had to be resourceful and use the few materials at his disposal. He started transferring photographs and small printed pictures The New York Times on wet remains of bar soap. He then placed the faint, upside-down portraits in cut-out stacks of playing cards glued together with toothpaste, creating a kind of protective shell with which he could smuggle the works out of the room.
The 292 works became ‘Purgatory’, which examines how we view crime and refers to the unwinnable game of life in a carceral society. After transferring photos of people sentenced to prison as well as celebrities like Naomi Campbell and David Letterman, Krimes points out the ways in which popularized images can exacerbate power imbalances.
“Purgatory” is currently on view at The Met in Jesse Krimes: Correctionsone of two exhibitions in New York of the artist’s work.
Research into the role of photography in the criminal justice system, Corrections brings together several large-scale works by Krimes, including “Apokaluptein: 16389067.” The 40-foot-high patchwork mural features images from newspapers that the artist transferred onto 39 prison sheets with hair gel. Reverse photographic views combine advertisements, snapshots of global conflicts and scenes from life from 2010 to 2013, all overlaid with Krimes’ own drawings.
The Root of the Apocalypse, apokaluptein is a Greek word that translates to ‘discovery’ and ‘revelation’. Combined with Krimes’ Bureau of Prisons ID number, the title refers to mass destruction and the justice system’s mediated view of the world.
After his release, Krimes co-founded the Center for Arts and Advocacywhich supports artists directly affected by the justice system, and continues to work with those incarcerated, often seeking help in obtaining materials for his work.
“Naxos,” for example, hangs 9,000 stones from prison grounds in a vibrant installation, paralleling “Apokaluptein: 16389067” at The Met. And at Jack Shainman Gallerywhere Krimes is represented, the artist’s new oeuvre repurposes clothing collected from currently and previously incarcerated people into sweeping tapestries.
Cells contains three abstract works of transferred art historical images, covered in expansive, network-like embroideries. The web pattern is based on microscopic images of cancer cells, which the artist cut out to leave only the healthy tissue intact. By removing these malignancies, he creates a complex metaphor for the ways in which the justice system removes people from society while exploring new paths to care and redemption.
Part of Krimes’ intention with his practice is to pay tribute to those within. “It is an absolute honor to show works created in such an austere and traumatic environment,” he said of Corrections. “Showing these works highlights much more than the work of an individual artist, the collective value, creativity and dignity of the millions of people currently behind prison walls.”
Cells is on view at the Jack Shainman Gallery through December 21 Jesse Krimes: Corrections runs through July 13, 2025 at the Met. Find more from Krimes at his website.
