In 2009, after graduating from
Millersville University, Krimes was arrested for cocaine possession. While awaiting sentencing for possession of cocaine with intent to distribute, he spent a year in solitary confinement. It was during this time that Krimes decided "to create something positive in the world”. During this time, he devised a way using
hair gel and toothpaste to hand-transfer images of individuals labeled as offenders in newspapers onto 292 bars of prison-issued soap. The soap bars were then embedded into carved playing cards to examine an array of issues, including the failures of the American justice system. He then shipped them discreetly out of prison. This ultimately became
Purgatory (2009), which was on view at
The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. He was sentenced to six years in prison, and subsequently served five years. Upon his release he co-founded Right of Return USA, a fellowship program to support previously incarcerated artists. In 2016,
JPMorgan Chase settled a lawsuit with Krimes, acting as plaintiff, for charging exorbitant fees for a debit card program that was supposed to help released inmates. Krimes has collaborated and received public commissions with a focus on prison reform including
Amnesty International,
Ford Foundation,
Open Philanthropy, and the City of Philadelphia Mural Arts’
Restorative Justice program, to name a few. Krimes was awarded fellowships by Robert Rauschenberg Foundation in 2017, the Independence Foundation in the same year, and the Ford Foundation’s Art For Justice initiative in 2018. Krimes is represented by Burning in Water Gallery in New York. Krimes was the subject of the 2021
documentary film
Art & Krimes by Krimes, directed by
Alysa Nahmias. ==Work Chronology==