Early on, beginning in 2011, Simpson embellished these photographic portraits from the 1960s and 70s with elaborate ink wash swirls and swooshes, grand and colorful gestures that resulted in fanciful and fantastical coiffures.
She has since experimented, combining the images with all manner of found photography and illustrations from textbooks. Simpson has paired the Ebony and Jet portraits with natural phenomena such as geological formations and glacial masses; billows of clouds and plumes of smoke; architectural elements; domestic interiors; scientific and anatomical diagrams; and a variety of sculptures. These works are mostly modest in scale.
The artist has also incorporated the magazine portraits into a selection of her large-scale paintings, a new direction she began pursuing in 2015. Here, the images are nearly overwhelmed by voluminous masses of deep blue, by turns moody and sensual; gradations of ominous grays; and cool, bright whites. Infused with energy and movement, the powerful and mesmerizing expanses resemble clouds and smoke (outsized versions of previous examples).
" The magazine images and added attributes conjure dramatic narratives, refute assumptions, and speak to the imagined lives and complex interiority of her subjects."
The pictorial compositions evoke strength, unease, change, and endurance—experiences and characteristics that have challenged and sustained black women across generations, historically and in the contemporary moment.
Simpson has made countless collages. Blending figuration and abstraction, she’s developed a visual language that explores representation, identity, race, and gender issues. In both the large and small works, the magazine images and added attributes bridge time, conjure dramatic narratives, refute assumptions, and speak to the imagined lives and complex interiority of her subjects.
Further exploring the medium, Simpson is introducing dozens of new collages this week, many made in isolation during the COVID-19 crisis. “Give Me Some Moments,” an online exhibition at Hauser & Wirth, debuts May 2.
Simpson’s latest collages revisit familiar themes and, at the same time, push into new visual and narrative territory. Each work sets the viewer’s mind racing, wondering, Who is this woman? What am I witnessing? Like scenes plucked from a suspense-filled motion picture, each work begs for a backstory. This ambiguity is precisely what continues to keep the work interesting and compel and engage the viewer. CT
“Lorna Simpson: Give Me Some Moments” opens online at Hauser & Wirth, May 2, 2020
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