Arthur Simms

Arthur Simms’ practice encomapsses dimensional paintings, sculpture, and works on paper. Influenced by his early early childhood in Jamaica, and the improvisationally constructed carts he saw transporting goods to and from the markets there, Simms advances the traditions of assemblage through the articulation of monumental objects, the whole of which seemingly exceeds the sum of their parts. Utilizing natural materials, found objects, objects of personal significance, and wire or hemp rope as a binding agent, Simms’ constructions read simultaneously as a natural part of their surroundings, and as the residue of a ritual performance or spiritual offering that has taken place on the site. 

Real Estate for Birds? numbers among these works, utilizing an electrical pole as a place of transformation through the wrapping and binding of raw materials. The sculpture converts a man-made intervention in the landscape into a space for birds to flock and nest, redefining the meaning of its utility. 

Exhibitions of Arthur Simms’ work have been held as part of the Kingston Biennial, Kingston; the 58th Venice Biennial, Venice; and the Scully Tomasko Foundation, New York among many others. Simms was the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1999, and was granted a residency at the Joan Mitchell Foundation in 2013.