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April 17, 2008- May 24, 2008
Reception: April 17, 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Kim Simonsson
Nancy Margolis Gallery
523 W 25th StKim Simonsson following on the heels of successful exhibitions in Finland, Berlin, Miami and Madrid, is exhibiting at the Nancy Margolis Gallery opening April 17 - May 24. With this extraordinary body of work, Invisible World, completed expressly for the Nancy Margolis Gallery, Simonsson demonstrates anew not only a prodigious imagination, and mastery of his materials, but equally important a core of confidence and maturity. Kim Simonsson creates large ceramic figures inspired by Japanese manga and anime, impish girls, platinum plated greyhounds and dripping gold rabbits.
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Finish Artist Kim Simonsson is to have his second exhibition at the Nancy Margolis Gallery open Thursday, April 17, 2008. After graduating from the University of Art and Design in Helsinki, Simonsson was awarded the prestigious Young Artist of the Year Award in 2004 with an exhibition on two floors of the Tempere Art Museum outside of Helsinki. Simonsson's career began auspiciously with this extraordinary honor rarely accorded such a young artist. Today, only four years later, he is acknowledged as one of Finland's most important and gifted young artists.
Although Simonsson has chosen to work with clay, an ancient material not commonly found in contemporary sculpture, his vision is fresh and modern. A master of his materials, he draws on the visual language of pop art, and the stylized imagery of Japanese manga and anime to comment on the inconsistencies of society. His sculpture playfully contrasts the behavior of his near life-sized children, alluring pubescent girls, and animals with conventional expectations of acceptable behavior. Horizontal Spit III, an angry little girl, dressed comely with ribbon and bows, a curly-cue ponytail, and a face of wide-eyed innocence startles and hoodwinks as she lets us have it, forcefully expelling arcs of glass saliva in different directions. Melting Ear, a solemn, oversized glitzy platinum rabbit sits Buddha-like, suggesting big power, far from our fairytale associations. Tenderness plays out in many directions as in Guardian Angel III; a seated female figure gently nuzzled by a throbbing small deer lying in her lap. The feelings expressed are palpable.
Dealing with a seemingly benign caste of characters Simonsson is always pushing the work to strengthen its expression. In Guardian Angel III, a motorized trembling deer hypnotically moves. Platinum and gold, rich materials, create drama, shimmering as seen in the lunging, fierce Ghostdog with circular cutouts covering its form. The work is edgy, unforgettable, but Simonsson does not lose us, he pulls us along in spite of the raw emotions.
Recognized for the scope and breadth of his talent, Simonsson, has great fun twitting and challenging us. Contempt, irreverence, tenderness, vulnerability intermix with the artist's intent to tease, provoke and amuse. He takes the weak, small, and delicate and makes them unexpectedly defiant and powerful, gleefully thumbing their nose at society, its pre-conceptions and hypocrisies. Although dealing with serious content Simonsson approaches his subject with humor, refusing to be weighed down.
Kim Simonsson lives and works in Helsinki, Finland. His sculpture is in numerous public collections including the prestigious Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art, Helsinki, the Espoo Museum of Modern Art, Finland, Tampere Art Museum, Finland, National Museum of Norway, Arario Gallery, Korea, Shigaraki Museum of Contemporary Art, Japan as well as private collections in France and The United States.
Books and DVDs related to artists in this show
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