Rose B. Simpson: Non Linear — Art Basel Statements
September 21-26, 2021
Jessica Silverman is pleased to present “Non Linear,” an exhibition of new ceramic sculptures by Rose B. Simpson at Art Basel Switzerland, taking place from September 21-26, 2021. It is the artist’s European debut.
Rose B. Simpson’s work addresses the emotional and existential impacts of living in the 21st century. Informed by her indigenous upbringing on a pueblo outside of Santa Fe, New Mexico, Simpson reimagines native and colonial narratives as they pertain to family, gender, marginality and the self. For some of these androgynous figures, Simpson uses a technique she refers to as “slap-slab” wherein she repeatedly throws clay against the floor on a diagonal until it is very thin. The sculptures in “Non Linear” elicit empathy and explore the universals of our collective humanity.
The exhibition includes Syncing 1 and Syncing A – sibling busts, made out of the three different kinds of clay, that seek to unify people from diverse parts of the planet. Also on view will be Daughter, a sculpture that explores the artist’s on-going experiences as a parent.
Themes of growth and nourishment are also present in works like Self Harmony, which uses as leather, twine, steel, string and concrete. Simpson sees these materials as symbolic layers of self-care and well-being or, she puts it, “a song of medicine in perpetual return."
Rose B. Simpson (b. 1983, Santa Clara Pueblo, NM) has a BFA from the Institute of American Indian Art, an MFA from Rhode Island School of Design and an MA in Creative Writing from the Institute of American Indian Arts. She has had recent solo exhibitions at the Wheelwright Museum (Santa Fe, NM), the Nevada Art Museum (Reno, NM), SCAD Museum of Art (Savannah, GA), and Pomona College Museum of Art. In the past year, her work has been included in numerous group exhibitions including at MASS MoCA (North Adams, MA), The Cleveland Museum of Art (Cleveland, OH), the UC Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (Berkeley, CA), as well as The Bronx Museum of Arts (New York, NY). Simpson has forthcoming solo exhibitions at The Fabric Workshop and Museum (Philadelphia, PA), the ICA Boston, and Jessica Silverman (San Francisco, CA). Her sculptures are in many museum collections, including the collections of the Denver Art Museum, ICA Boston, Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, Museum of Fine Arts Boston, Pomona College Museum of Art (Pomona, CA), Portland Art Museum, Princeton University Art Museum, and San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Simpson lives and works at The Santa Clara Pueblo, New Mexico. She is represented by Jessica Silverman, San Francisco.
