MAD.KAT Art Gallery will open July 29 in Rancho Mirage. Owned and managed by artist Kim Tolman, the gallery’s name comes from the first letters of Modern Art Design, Kim Assing Tolman.
Tolman was born and raised in Germany, and has been painting since her teenage years. She met and married her husband, Russ, in Germany, and became an established artist there before moving to San Francisco 22 years ago. She worked hard to establish herself in the U.S., and ended up winning awards for her work as a production and scenic designer, working with multiple theater companies and corporations including Disney, Universal Studios, McDonald’s, DreamWorks, Pepsi and L’Oréal.
Despite her success, she longed to get back in front of a canvas.
“For a long time, I’ve wanted to get back to my painting roots,” she said. “I’ve been a production designer and a scenic designer, but painting was my first love, and having my own gallery has been a lifelong dream.”
Tolman and her husband moved to the desert a few years ago. They owned a second home in Palm Springs, and previously had one in Joshua Tree—but a full transition to the desert was the next step.
“We love the natural beauty and the more relaxed lifestyle without sacrificing urban events and conveniences,” she said.
The first exhibition at MAD.KAT will feature Tolman’s work. Rück Blick (“look back”) is a retrospective of her paintings from the early ’90s to today. Tolman emphasizes texture and color in her favored large-format paintings.
“I love to draw abstract, colorful, bold contrasts, oil on canvas (and) acrylics, because my pieces are large, and that requires me to be physically involved when I paint,” Tolman said. “My paintings come from an emotional place. I tell stories with visuals; it’s how I express myself.”
Though her paintings are often abstract, they can have an emotional impact on viewers.
“My paintings come from an emotional place. I tell stories with visuals; it’s how I express myself.”
Kim A. Tolman
“We have one wall that cried out for a piece, and when we saw one of her paintings, we knew we had to have it,” said Long Beach resident Richard Matlock. “Her colors and the way she uses contrasts is striking. Her brush strokes are strong. The piece is a constant source of adventure for my wife and me; the sky interfaces with the water. It’s unique—serenity mixed with tension suspended in the waves.”
Tolman said everyone tends to see different things with her paintings. “I love it when they tell me what they see,” she said. “It’s very emotional for me (for people to) experience something different, a different story.”
The plan for the 1,200-square-foot MAD.KAT is to feature artists with fresh perspectives.
“We will have six exhibitions each year, showing new, exciting contemporary works of national, international and local artists who have not yet been brought to Coachella Valley,” she said. “We will bring a high level of artistic excellence to the community.”
The Tolman retrospective is slated to run until Oct. 15. The next exhibition, scheduled from Oct. 21 through Dec. 23, will be in·ter·con·nec·tion, Tolman said, featuring 13 artists from locales including Palm Desert, Palm Springs, Tokyo, Cairo, Athens, Madrid, New York, San Francisco, Germany and Poland.
Rück Blick, a retrospective show of paintings by Kim A. Tolman, will open with a reception from 5 to 9 p.m., Saturday, July 29, at MAD.KAT Gallery, 71590 Highway 111, in Rancho Mirage. The exhibition will be on display through Sunday, Oct. 15. For more information, call 760-980-7550, or visit gallerymadkat.com.
Story edited on July 29 to correct Russ Tolman’s first name.