Jimmie Durham was born in 1940 in the USA. In the early 1960’s, he was active in theatre, performance, and literature in the U.S. Civil Rights Movement. His first solo exhibition took place in Austin, Texas, 1965.
In 1969 he moved to Geneva and returned to the USA in 1973, before moving to Mexico in 1987 and then to Europe in 1994.
Jimmie Durham was a political organizer in the American Indian Movement from 1973-1980, Director of the International Indian Treaty Council and representative at the United Nations.
His works have been exhibited in numerous international museum shows including the Centre d’Art Contemporain, Geneva and RAM, Rom in 2007; the Museum van Hedendaagse Kunst, Antwerp, the Whitney Biennial, NY and Kunsthalle Basel in 2006; the ICA London, Tirana Biennale, Guangzou Triennial, Palais de Tokyo Paris, MARTa Herford and Kunstwerke Berlin in 2005; the Gwangju Biennale 2004; the Musée d’Art Contemporaine Marseille, GEM Den Haag, Sydney Biennale, SMAK Gent, Whitney Museum and Museum of Contemporary Art Zagreb in 2003, the Venice Biennale in 2005, 2003, 2001 and 1999; as well as at the Documenta Kassel 1992. Still Life with Stone and Car was exhibited in the 2004 Biennale of Sydney and acquired by Transfield thereafter.