Ursula

Portfolio

Walkman:
Gary Simmons on the virtues of urban wandering

The artist takes us through his portfolio of work

Sketchbook pages from Gary Simmons' personal archive, ca. 1993-2023 © Gary Simmons. Courtesy the artist

  • 22 June 2023
  • Ursula: Issue 8

For this portfolio, Simmons takes Ursula through a selection of photos, sketchbook pages and artworks from 1993 to 2023 that connect several major and overlapping themes in his work—urbanism, music, sports and architecture—and often lead him to the unexpected

In the 1990s, the artist Gary Simmons, a New York City native, began long walks around the city that came to serve as a wellspring of inspiration for his work. Along the way, he would gather things: business cards, music ephemera, other pieces of urban flotsam and jetsam that he taped into sketchbooks along with drawings and pictures of whatever fascinated him, subjects as disparate as sports stadiums and discarded sofas. The act of walking became a vital means for Simmons to contextualize and combine ideas, memories and references to American pop culture back in his studio—a process he has likened to “visual DJing,” a highly individual version of the flânerie that has fed other urban artists’ work for more than a century. Even now, living and working in non-pedestrian Los Angeles, walking and taking pictures remains integral to his art.

Photos from Gary Simmons' personal archive, ca. 1993-2023 © Gary Simmons. Courtesy the artist

The artist takes Ursula through a selection of photos, sketchbook pages and artworks

Graffiti inspires me all the time. Being an ex-writer myself, I’m drawn to the way tags layer over each other and sometimes they get cleaned. Walking in New York is where my poster pieces come from, that aesthetic of overlapping and overlaying things.

In This Corner, 2012. Graphite, paint and paper on plywood. Dimensions variable; fifteen panels: 96 x 212 x 18 in. (243.8 x 538.5 x 45.7 cm) overall. © Gary Simmons. Courtesy the artist and Hauser & Wirth. Photo: Keith Lubow

Right: Lab Table Sound System, 2023. PA speakers, wooden table, ratchet strap, 98 x 71 7/8 x 24 in. (248.9 x 182.6 x 61 cm). © Gary Simmons. Courtesy the artist and Hauser & Wirth. Photo: Keith Lubow

Things from the street have made their way into my work. A discarded red crate became an early speaker sample construction.

Photos from Gary Simmons' personal archive, ca. 1993-2023 © Gary Simmons. Courtesy the artist

Photos from Gary Simmons' personal archive, ca. 1993-2023 © Gary Simmons. Courtesy the artist

Original Man, 1993. Latex on canvas and aluminum grommets, 96 x 96 in. (243.8 x 243.8 cm) © Gary Simmons. Courtesy the artist and Hauser & Wirth

Gleason’s Gym has a huge effect for me. It has beaten-up hanging heavy bags that for me are beautiful sculptural objects. All the boxers have their own locker. I love the way they save and put up pictures of themselves, that configuration on the lockers. I could do an entire show just based on Gleason’s Gym.

Photos and sketchbook pages from Gary Simmons' personal archive, ca. 1993-2023 © Gary Simmons. Courtesy the artist

Photos from Gary Simmons' personal archive, ca. 1993-2023 © Gary Simmons. Courtesy the artist

I love the old font kind of thing, the way the signage works. It has a Wild West vibe to it.

Just for One Day, 2013. Photo emulsion on mesh and wood, 144 x 240 x 96 in. (365.8 x 609.6 x 243.8 cm), overall. © Gary Simmons. Courtesy the artist and Hauser & Wirth. Photo: Brian Forrest

Landmark, 2008. Pigment, oil paint and cold wax on canvas, 84 x 84 in. (213.4 x 213.4 cm). © Gary Simmons. Courtesy the artist and Hauser & Wirth. Photo: Keith Lubow

Star Fall Giant, 2014 (detail). Enamel on wood, two panels: 48 x 48 in. (121.9 x 121.9 cm) each; 100 1/4 x 48 in. (54.6 x 121.9 cm) overall. © Gary Simmons. Courtesy the artist and Hauser & Wirth. Photo: Thomas Barratt

The structure of stadiums—there’s an awe you get when you come down the tunnels and enter with an emerald field in front of you and the game isn’t even played yet. Hopes and dreams played out on fields. They’re almost like a modern day Coliseum. They have so much symbolism for me that I keep pictures of stadiums around all the time.

Photos from Gary Simmons' personal archive, ca. 1993-2023 © Gary Simmons. Courtesy the artist

Above: Marnie’s Nightmare, 2006. Pigment and oil stick on wall. Dimensions variable. Installation view, “1964,” Bohen Foundation, New York, March 11–May 26, 2006. © Gary Simmons. Courtesy the artist and Hauser & WirthBelow: The Stadium, 2013. Enamel and screenprint on panel, 96 x 144 1/4 in. (243.8 x 366.4 cm). Private collection. © Gary Simmons. Courtesy the artist and Hauser & Wirth.

I was starting to make connections between sky constellations and dance, the romantic idea between dance and the stars. The constellation found its way into a sketchbook. I find some little thing in a book somewhere and tape it in and start thinking about it like that. It's literally my brain on paper.

Sketchbook page from Gary Simmons' personal archive, ca. 1993-2023 © Gary Simmons. Courtesy the artist

Ghost Town Skies, 2023. Oil paint and cold wax on canvas, 84 x 108 in. (213.4 x 274.3 cm). © Gary Simmons. Courtesy the artist and Hauser & Wirth. Photo: Keith Lubow

- “Gary Simmons: This Must Be the Place” is on view through July 29 at Hauser & Wirth London.

Gary Simmons: Public Enemy” is on view through October 1 at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, and continues at the Pérez Art Museum Miami from December 5, 2023 to April 24, 2024.