Gary Simmons: Public Enemy

Gary Simmons' first comprehensive survey spans three decades of his art, covering sculptures, paintings, works on paper, wall drawings, installations, and site-specific works. He is known for combining pop-cultural imagery with conceptual artistic strategies to expose and analyze histories of racism in US visual culture. His approach is cool and unflinching, yet the results consistently deliver a strong emotional charge. This publication offers readers the opportunity to gain a holistic understanding of his complex, profoundly moving work.

Format: Hardback
Length: 208 pages
Publication date: 14 September 2023
Publisher: Distributed Art Publishers

Gary Simmons is a highly regarded artist who has been active in the art world for over three decades. His work encompasses a wide range of mediums, including sculptures, paintings, works on paper, large-scale wall drawings, installations, and site-specific works. Simmons has been instrumental in addressing issues of race, class, and gender identity within art discourse, combining pop-cultural imagery with conceptual artistic strategies to expose and analyze histories of racism inscribed in US visual culture. His approach is cool and unflinching in its interrogation of historical and cultural narratives, yet the results consistently deliver a strong emotional charge. This comprehensive survey spans three decades of Simmons' art, published with the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago. It includes over 300 illustrations, including photographs, drawings, and installation views, and provides a detailed overview of his artistic career. Simmons was born in 1964 in New York City and currently lives and works in Los Angeles. He received his BFA from the School of Visual Arts in 1988 and his MFA from the California Institute of the Arts in 1990. He has received numerous awards, including the Studio Museum in Harlem Joyce Alexander Wein Prize (2013), the George Gund Foundation USA Gund Fellowship (2007), and the National Endowment for the Arts Interarts Grant (1990). Simmons' work has been exhibited in numerous museums and galleries worldwide, including the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Tate Modern, and the Museum of Contemporary Art Los Angeles. His work has been praised for its ability to engage with a wide range of audiences and for its ability to challenge and subvert traditional notions of art. In this survey, Simmons' work is presented in chronological order, beginning with his early sculptures and paintings and moving through his more recent installations and site-specific works. The book begins with a discussion of Simmons' early work, which was characterized by a focus on the body and the body's relationship to space. Simmons' sculptures often featured abstracted forms that were inspired by the human body, and his paintings often featured bold colors and geometric shapes. In the late 1980s, Simmons began to incorporate pop-cultural imagery into his work, using images from popular culture to comment on social and political issues. His work from this period includes the series "The Blacker the Berry," which featured images of black men and women in various states of undress, and the series "The White Man's Burden," which featured images of white men and women in various states of servitude. Simmons' work from the 1990s and 2000s continued to explore issues of race, class, and gender identity, but it also began to incorporate more abstract and conceptual elements. His work from this period includes the series "The Color of Money," which featured images of money and its various meanings, and the series "The Color of Power," which featured images of power and its various manifestations. Simmons' work from the 2010s and beyond has continued to push the boundaries of art, incorporating more experimental and interdisciplinary elements. His work from this period includes the series "The Color of Life," which featured images of life and its various stages, and the series "The Color of Death," which featured images of death and its various manifestations. Overall, Gary Simmons is a highly respected artist who has made significant contributions to the art world. His work is characterized by its ability to engage with a wide range of audiences and to challenge and subvert traditional notions of art. This comprehensive survey provides a detailed overview of his artistic career and is essential reading for anyone interested in contemporary art.

Dimension: 292 x 248 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781636810867