Chair with my Hair – A Solo Exhibition by Arthur Simms
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CHAIR WITH MY HAIR – A SOLO EXHIBITION BY ARTHUR SIMMS
February 10 to July 7, 2024
The Kunstmuseum St. Gallen presents the most comprehensive solo exhibition by American artist Arthur Simms (*1961 in St. Andrews, Jamaica, lives and works in Staten Island, New York), featuring over sixty works spanning three decades of artistic creation. The artist explores his biography in colossal sculptures and monumental paper works. Despite participating in major exhibitions such as the Venice Biennale (2001, 2019), his work has yet to be showcased in museums. Kunstmuseum St. Gallen honors the artist’s forty-year career with this solo exhibition.
In his works, the New York artist articulates a distinctive language that he continues evolving. He intertwines elements of his Jamaican heritage, natural materials (such as hemp rope or human hair), and found objects in cocoon-like structures. Simms' work testifies to the potential of art to blend different realities into a new, unique unity, making the complexity of his migrant identity visible.
Arthur Simms grew up in Kingston, Jamaica, and moved to New York City with his family at seven. In his early childhood, Simms was fascinated by the improvised carts used by vendors to transport their goods to and from the market. The unintentional poetry of these makeshift constructions stayed with him, inspiring his art.
Objects like bottles, toys, or bicycle wheels shape Simms' artistic language. Often sourced from the streets of New York, these found items are integrated and artistically reinterpreted in his creations. Each piece tells its story and carries cultural significance beyond its original purpose. Through this process of appropriation and reinterpretation, Simms breathes new life into discarded objects. At the same time, he reflects on art history, from Marcel Duchamp's Readymade to Robert Rauschenberg's Combined Paintings.
One of the most distinctive features of Simms' art is his unique use of hemp rope. With its rich texture and cultural resonance, the material becomes a symbolic thread connecting the artist to his Jamaican roots. Simms transforms the traditional raw material into a medium of expression, giving his works a tactile quality that evokes a connection to his homeland.
Arthur Simms' sculptures exude the aura of a mystical world. Through artistic refinement, he gives the objects an essential presence characterized by delicate details, whimsical forms, and meticulous craftsmanship. His works come to life with a magical energy, inviting viewers into a realm where reality and fantasy merge.
Essentially, Arthur Simms' art is a fusion of personal history, cultural identity, and environmental consciousness in the literal sense. Through the interplay of knotting, found objects, and the exploration of his identity as an immigrant, Simms prompts us to engage in a profound discussion at the intersection of art, heritage, and sustainability.
The exhibition is curated by Gianni Jetzer, Director of Kunstmuseum St. Gallen.
For more information or images, please contact kommunikation@kunstmuseumsg.ch
A monograph in collaboration with Karma New York and Martos Gallery New York will be released in June 2024.
Wenn Sie Interesse an einem Interview-Termin haben, melden Sie sich unter kommunikation@kunstmuseumsg.ch
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Pressekontakt: kommunikation@kunstmuseumsg.ch
Gloria Weiss Kunstmuseum St.Gallen, Leitung Kommunikation, T +41 71 242 06 84
Further material to download document: Captions.docx
