Wednesday, January 29, 2014, 5:30 PM  |  Center for Creative Photography 108

Lecture: Underscore/Open/Archive As Impetus

Xaviera Simmons will discuss her practice which includes projects in photography, performance, sculpture, installation, video and sound. Simmons will speak overall on her studio practice which she describes as cyclical rather than linear, in that Simmons spends part of the year producing photographs, another part paying strict attention to performance and yet another part of the year focused on installation/sculptural works.  Simmons will highlight her 2013-2014 projects which include “Underscore” produced and on view until March 2014 at The Aldrich Museum Of Contemporary Art, CT , “Open” on view until January 2014 at The David Castillo Gallery, Miami and “Archive As Impetus” a  2013 year long project Simmons produced at The Museum Of Modern Art.

Bio: Xaviera Simmons produces installations, sculptures, photographic, video and performative works. She received a BFA from Bard College (2004) after spending 2 years of walking pilgrimage retracing the Trans Atlantic Slave Trade with Buddhist Monks. She completed the Whitney Museum’s ISP in Studio Art (2005) while simultaneously completing a two-year actor-training conservatory with The Maggie Flanigan Studio. Xaviera has exhibited nationally and internationally where major exhibitions and performances include; The Museum of Modern, MoMA PS1, Nouveau Museum National de Monaco, The Studio Museum In Harlem, The Contemporary Arts Museum Houston, The Public Art Fund and The Sculpture Center. Simmons is a recipient of numerous awards including The David Driskell Prize, The Jerome Foundation Travel Fellowship, an Art Matters Fellowship and a SmARTPower Fellowship. Simmons was a 2012 AIR at The Studio Museum In Harlem.

Selected solo projects and group exhibitions scheduled for 2013-2014 include “Archive As Impetus” with The Museum Of Modern Art, “Underscore” at The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum  “Open” at The David Castillo Gallery and “Rehearsals” at The Savannah College Of Art and Design, among many others. Her works are in major museum and private collections including Deutsche Bank, UBS, The Guggenheim Museum, The Agnes Gund Art Collection, The Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, and The Studio Museum in Harlem. In spring of 2013 Simmons was a visiting critic and lecturer in the Graduate Department of Sculpture at Yale University and an Artist In Residence at Anderson Ranch. Simmons is on the Board Of Directors of Spaceworks, a non profit real estate organization dedicated to expanding the supply of long term stable and affordable workspace for arts practitioners in New York City.

Dwelling: From Space to Place in the Visual Arts | VASE 2013-2014