Gary Simmons: Public Enemy will be the first comprehensive survey of the artist Gary Simmons to open in October of 2021. The show will present 30 years of his conceptually-informed, pop-inflected work in all media, including sculpture, painting, works on paper and installations, as well as new large-scale wall drawings that the artist will create on site. Simmons has used appropriated imagery and slogans from mass media to expose and analyze racist currents that run through American culture. His cool, analytical approach exposes the latent racism that pervades every aspect of American life, from sports to cinema, television, literature, music—even seemingly neutral fields like architecture. He was a pioneer in this regard, an early visionary whose insights into the racial substructure that shapes every aspect of our culture have paved the way for the next generation of artists to bring these hidden features into open view. Gary Simmons: Public Enemy will be divided into eight thematic sections, each focusing on a body of work and a particular subject.
Gary Simmons: Public Enemy
Gary Simmons, Bryce Overlook, 2011. Pastel on paper: 12 panels, 24 x 24 inches each. ©Garry Simmons. Courtesy of the artist and Hauser & Wirth. Photo: Damian Griffiths.
Gary Simmons, Piano Man, 2020. Oil and cold wax on canvas, 84 x 108 inches. ©Gary Simmons. Courtesy of the artist and Hauser & Wirth. Photo: Jeff McLane.
Gary Simmons, Lineup, 1993. Installation view from Pop/Concept: Highlights from the Permanent Collection (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York). Artwork ©Gary Simmons. Photo by Jerry L. Thompson, courtesy of the Whitney Museum of American Art.
Gary Simmons, Marnie’s Nightmare, 2006. Pigment and oil stick on wall, dimensions variable. Installation view, ‘1964’, The Bohen Foundation, New York, NY. ©Gary Simmons. Courtesy of the Bohen Foundation.
Gary Simmons, In the Blink of an Eye, 2006. Pigment and oil stick on wall, dimensions variable. Installation view, ‘1964’, The Bohen Foundation, New York, NY. ©Gary Simmons. Courtesy of the Bohen Foundation.
Gary Simmons, Reflection of a Future Past, 2006. Pigment and oil stick on wall, dimensions variable. Installation view, ‘1964’, The Bohen Foundation, New York, NY. ©Gary Simmons. Courtesy of the Bohen Foundation.
“The terrific range of project proposals we receive each year speaks to the mobile and porous disciplinary boundaries of contemporary art practice, and to the rich and inventive ways writers approach art today. They are alert to the urgent need to expand the conventions of art history and criticism with ideas from other discourses, such as black studies, transnational and diaspora studies, gender and women’s studies, and LGBT studies. The work of lesser known and overlooked artists and art communities continues to be mined, with writers articulating new ways to counter the striking imbalances of race, class and gender that continue to affect the arts and the culture industry.”