Missoula Art Museum exhibits MT native Andrea Joyce Heimer

The Missoula Art Museum presents Pastime, a new exhibition of paintings and drawings by Andrea Joyce Heimer. Heimer was born in Billings, Montana, and grew up in Great Falls. She now lives and works in Bellingham, Washington. Heimer’s narrative painting and drawing practice is deeply personal and draws on her childhood in Montana.

“She is a storyteller,” Brandon Reintjes, senior curator at the Missoula Art Museum, said. “We were drawn to her work after reading about her in The New York Times in 2017. Shortly thereafter we visited her studio in Washington and began planning this exhibition.”

Heimer uses masking to create detailed and collage-like paintings. She created this body of work in early 2021 upon reflecting on memories of her youth.

“I made a list of memories from back then, of what exactly I did to pass the time when there was seemingly nothing to do,” the artist wrote in a statement about the exhibit. “In hindsight, I can see these pastimes aren’t just silly games born from never-ending free time and the absence of responsibility… I see the list [of memories] for what it is: a string of plotlines just starting, many of which I continue now.” These memories are borne out through the longer titles of her paintings, which set the scene for the viewer.

Pastime is on view at the Missoula Art Museum through January 29, 2022. 

About the Artist

She received an MFA from the New Hampshire Institute of Art and has taught at the Oregon College of Art and Craft, Emily Carr University of Art and Design, and Western Washington University. Heimer was a 2019 recipient of the Joan Mitchell Foundation Painters & Sculptors Grants, a 2019 Betty Bowen Award finalist, and a 2018 Neddy Award finalist in painting, a 2015 recipient of the 5790projects Award, and a 2013 Neddy Award finalist in painting.

Her work has been covered in outlets including Art in America, Wall Street Journal, New York Times, The New Yorker, New American Paintings, and Huffington Post.

Heimer is represented by Nino Mier Gallery in Los Angeles. Her work has been included in international shows at Almine Rech in Paris, Pinakotheke der Moderne in Munich, and Nino Mier in Brussels. In 2017, Heimer was one of 55 artists selected to participate in the 15th Istanbul Biennial. She is currently pursuing doctoral studies on alternative pedagogies and feminization of post-secondary art education.