I think historically as the moving image, film from its earliest stages has a lot of political reference points. I'm very pleased to be working in paint because there's something that's really great about going into an art show and slowing people down for a brief period of time. There's all this speed out there to get to some where are you going? And so if you get into a place that's sort of relatively quiet and forces you to rethink some of your experiences from the past or where things are going in the future, I think that's successful.
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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