Gary Simmons
About
Utilizing the icons and stereotypes of American pop culture, from cartoons to vernacular architecture, Gary Simmons's drawings and sculptures probe black identity in terms of both personal and collective experience. Simmons is best known for his “erasure drawings” in which compositions are executed in white chalk on painted slate panels or walls, then rubbed and smudged by the artist's own hands—a strategy that renders their imagery ghostly, unstable, and uncertain. This exhibition features recent drawing, sculpture, and video by this widely acclaimed African American artist, including a major wall drawing made specifically for the exhibition.
This exhibition is curated by Thelma Golden and co-organized by the MCA and the Studio Museum in Harlem. It is accompanied by a fully illustrated catalogue that will be the first monograph on Simmons's work.
Funding
This exhibition is generously supported by the Joyce Foundation, The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Sara Albrecht Nygren and Bill Nygren, Elizabeth Morse Genius Charitable Trust, the Kovler Family Foundation, and Nancy and Sanfred Koltun.
Air transportation is provided by American Airlines, the official airline of the Museum of Contemporary Art.
