52 | FEBRUARY 9 • 2023 

ARTS&LIFE
ON THE COVER
Prince’s love symbol, which he sold just three 
weeks later to his friend and former band mate, 
Ian Miles, a Prince-obsessed successful guitar 
master.
Wineman cherishes the memories of his 
paternal Grandmother Connie Wineman, 
affectionately known to her seven grandkids 
as “Darzie.
” She passed away in 2008 at age 90. 
Over Dinty Moores at Ember’s or Stage Deli, 
the two would regularly discuss music and the 
arts while Wineman tried to find his footing in 
the industry.
“I played the soundtrack to Prince’s Purple 
Rain for this funky, hip 88-year-old when I was 
19,
” Wineman said of his grandmother, who 
was a DIA docent well into her 80s. “She always 
appreciated me creatively and supported and 
cared so much about me. She was my biggest 
fan, and I was hers.
”
Wineman knows she’s kvelling down on his 
next chapter as contemporary painter whose 
pieces are rooted in social issues, addiction, 
mental health and the inner child. Under his 
artist pseudonym “WolfGangGang,
” a tribute 
to his son, Wineman has painted more than 
200 works and sold 85 of them to collectors. 
In October 2022, Wineman had his first solo 
exhibition at the Laughlin Gallery in Highland 
Park, Illinois, called the Neuroplasticity 
Collection.
“They’re all based on the transition from 
substance-drenched brain to sobriety,
” said 
Wineman. “My style is controlled chaos. It’s 
colorful, intuitive, messy, big, intense, loud. 
There’s a lot of hidden messages and knowledge 
that I gained over the years. There’s lots of 
history in my painting of things in my life that 
keep me going. It’s my brand of insanity.
”
After the Highland Park July 4th parade mass 
shooting happened six months ago, just 10 
minutes from where Wineman and his wife and 
son live, his painting style started to take on a 
different tone.
“It became darker and mysterious, yet 
playful and honest. It was important for me to 
be an ally to my community in which I work, 
play and foster these great relationships with 
other Jewish people. With public antisemitism 
running rampant in our country at a rate that 
we haven’t seen in decades, I strive to continue 
to learn about my Jewish heritage and find out 
what it means to live life as a Jew,
” Wineman 
says.

DETROIT HOMECOMING
Following Wineman’s great success at his solo 
Illinois exhibition, Metropolitan Museum 
Jamie Wineman’s untitled new work includes a depiction of Jewish history in Detroit. It will 
be for sale at Neuroplasticity+ show.

ELAINE MELKO

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