Better than most artists, Jinkins understands both sides of that equation. An accomplished painter, Jinkins also is an ordained pastor who has deeply explored the spiritual traditions of Christianity, Buddhism and other faiths.

A longtime friend of Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church, Jinkins was a pastor in residence here during the summer of 2021. This fall, we have an opportunity to get to know Jinkins the painter.

On Homecoming Sunday, Sept. 18, the Arts & Our Faith Committee presents A Brush with Transcendence, an exhibition of paintings by Michael Jinkins.

“Michael brings his mind and his faith to the canvas, creating powerful and beautiful abstract paintings,” says Nancy Moore, co-chair of the committee. “As someone who loves the arts (fine art in particular), and who is blessed with deep faith, I am always thrilled when the two intersect.”

Jinkins’ work draws principally on the American Abstract Expressionist tradition, as represented by Mark Rothko and Jackson Pollock. The exhibition will feature pieces from his series Visual Conversations With Poets, in which Jinkins’ art converses with the poetry of Samuel Coleridge, Mary Oliver, William Butler Yeats and others.

The exhibition also will include works from the series Tempest and Landscapes of the Imagination, which are inspired by the divine presence in creation. These pieces reflect the principal themes of the fall sermon series, Holy Ground.

“Like other spiritual disciplines, painting, for me, is grounded in silence and solitude,” Jinkins writes, “but also in communion and contemplation, an openness to the One … who is the ever-flowing spring of creation.” 

Jinkins served as an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church for 40 years, 25 in higher education. He has painted since his youth. He lives with his wife, Debbie (a watercolor artist), in St. Simons Island, Georgia.

Jinkins will be present in the Chesnut Gallery on the opening day of the exhibition. A Brush with Transcendence will be on view through Thanksgiving. See more of the artist’s work at michaeljinkinsfineart.com.