Gary Simmons

Gary Simmons was born in 1964 in New York City. Simmons earned a B.F.A. at the School of Visual Arts in New York and an M.F.A. at the California Institute of the Arts in Valencia. He lives and works in Los Angeles.

Simmons’ work has been featured in numerous exhibitions both nationally and internationally. He first gained notoriety in the 1993 Whitney Biennial as well as in Thelma Golden's landmark 1994 exhibition Black Male: Representations of Masculinity in Contemporary American Art. Current and recent solo exhibitions include Fade to Black, California African America Museum, Los Angeles (2017-18); Recapturing Memories of the Black Ark, Southern Exposure, San Francisco (2017); Ghost Reels, Drawing Center, New York (2016-18); Gary Simmons, presented by Culture Lab Detroit and Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit, Detroit (2016); Project Gallery: Gary Simmons, Pérez Art Museum, Miami (2014-15); and Focus: Gary Simmons, Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, Fort Worth (2013).

He has been the recipient of multiple awards, including the Studio Museum in Harlem Joyce Alexander Wein Prize (2013); George Gund Foundation USA Gund Fellowship (2007); and the National Endowment for the Arts Interarts Grant (1990).

Work by the artist is held in prominent museum collections, including the Museum of Modern Art, New York; Studio Museum in Harlem, New York; Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia; Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, D.C.; Pérez Art Museum, Miami; Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco; Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; and La Colección Jumex, Mexico City; among others.