Gary's called on words as well as images in his chalkboard pieces. In Frozen In Time made in 2014, the often racist nicknames of historic black boxes were emblazoned in fonts evocative of traditional entertainment and sporting posters. Since 2014, he's had an ongoing project called Recapturing Memories of the Black Ark, a reference to the studio of Dubrege legend Lee Scratch Perry. Gary created a stage and speaker structure from Wood, salvage from homes destroyed by Hurricane Katrina in the Tremaine neighbourhood of New Orleans. It's both an installation and architectural site for events involving musicians, DJs or spoken word performers.
Ben Luke talks to Gary Simmons about his influences—from musicians to writers, film-makers, and, of course, other artists—and the cultural experiences that have shaped his life and work. Simmons, born in New York in 1964 and based in Los Angeles, is a significant figure in a generation of politically engaged, artistically ambitious US artists that emerged in the early 1990s. Gary explores the complexities of race and class through media including drawings on chalkboards, sculpture, installation, architectural environments and painting. He draws on diverse references, including from pop culture like cartoons and sports, to create works that address systemic and enduring prejudice and the nature of memory. Gary’s language is deeply personal and informed by his own experiences but also calls on imagery with collective, if unstable, meanings.
Gary Simmons: Public Enemy, Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, 13 June-1 October, Pérez Art Museum Miami, 5 December-24 April 2024. Gary Simmons: This Must Be the Place, Hauser & Wirth, London, until 29 July.
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