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background & bio
Simon was a student during the late 1970’s and early 1980’s, graduating from Birmingham Polytechnic in Sculpture with a first class Honours degree and, later, from the Royal College of Art with a Masters in Painting. Simon's work draws from his long-held interest in European, English and American Modernism and Surrealism. In this he interweaves his allegiance to the Arts and Crafts tradition, and the long-standing debate about the definition and role of the decorative in the fine arts. Combined together, these forces open the door to a varied dialogue which contains figuration of and symbolic references to the landscape and the body as well as the transformation of materials and the extension of functions. Simon moves across painting, object-making, design, printmaking, photography and drawing. Each of these areas of creative activity reinforces and extends the possibilities of his continuing artistic practice. He is an avid collector of materials and an obsessive viewer of environments, surfaces, histories and forms. Travel has always been a significant trigger to the expansion of his visual world. In 2016 he established Touched by Fire, a company dedicated to exploring designing possibilities and obtaining the finest fabrics in collaboration with a team of Italian textile artisans. |
mentoring & outreach
For a number of years Simon has been passionately involved in the teaching of the Fine Arts at the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, New Zealand. He has had numerous solo and group shows in both public and private galleries. In addition, he has initiated major fundraising projects and has established and curated many exhibitions with peers, students and ex-students. The SOFA PRINT PROJECT (2004) stands out among these initiatives. The works are held as a collection at the Victoria & Albert Museum, in the Works on Paper Library (click here) He has recently contributed to create a link between the British School at Rome and The James Wallace Arts Trust which resulted in a major art residency open to early to mid career New Zealand artists. For Simon's inaugural speech, click here. For a complete CV, click here. Reader of Fine Arts (Adjunct, University of Canterbury, Christchurch), MA RCA London |