Exceptional Results: Thomas Chimes

Freeman’s | Hindman was honored to present a selection of Thomas Chimes’ work in Tuesday’s Art + Design auction, which achieved a strong showing with spirited bidding. The collection spanned the artist’s career and represented the major touchstones of his artistic production. Chimes’ practice often blended elements of Surrealism and Abstraction, while exploring a deeply personal aesthetic, rooted in philosophical and literary theories and motifs, and engaging the irrational and the absurd. Creating paintings, drawings, etchings, and sculpture, the artist often depicted dream-like landscapes, geometric shapes, and enigmatic symbols, challenging viewers to investigate the boundaries of reality with him. Simultaneously embodying complexity and simplicity, Chimes' work continues to resonate with collectors and art historians alike.

Thomas Chimes (American, 1921-2009) | IAMBOS I, 2008 | Sold for $10,880

Over the course of his life and career, Thomas Chimes made the pursuit of his authentic voice his work, reinventing himself in the process as he moved through different phases. Chimes’ sensitivity to his time and cultural milieu expressed itself in different modes, outlined in Michael Taylor’s seminal exhibition catalogue for the retrospective exhibition at the Philadelphia Museum of Art in 2007, Adventures in ‘Pataphysics, as: Crucifixion Paintings, Metal Boxes, Panel Portraits, and White Paintings. Freeman’s | Hindman presented engaging works from each of these groups, elucidating the extraordinary depth of the artist’s work throughout his life. While Chimes’ literary and philosophical source material can appear esoteric and conceptual, his paintings remain personal, authentic, and enlightening.