Troy Simmons is a Texas-born Miami-based artist who is currently in residency at the Bakehouse Art Complex in the Wynwood Art District. His critically acclaimed art explores identity and cultural stereotyping through color, form and structure, reflecting the Arte Povera movement in his use of common construction materials, fabric and salvaged wood. Selected in 2016 by Jessica Goldman Srebnick of Goldman Global Properties to incorporate his structures into the façade of a 16,512-square-foot commercial retail/development in the heart of Wynwood, Simmons’ ongoing project is scheduled for completion in summer of 2020. Simmons has also been short-listed for his proposal to feature his works in Norwegian Cruise Lines’ new terminal at the Port of Miami.
Simmons’ inspirations are drawn from his Texas childhood and explorations through the piney woods of East Texas, where he saw a parallel between his upbringing in the Houston neighborhoods and the destructive, yet necessary growth patterns of the Berchemia Scandens plant. This formative encounter was the catalyst that sparked Simmons’ ongoing interest in art, architecture and nature.
As seen in his 2009 and ongoing Durchbruch Series, Simmons’ biomorphic forms explore the extreme growth patterns of plant-based organisms. His work is a bridge between the natural world and human sociological struggles. A relationship overcomes strife, yielding forgiveness by the balance for coexistence. Coveting space, in a tantalizing expression birthed from Simmons’ personal experiences. Durchbruch, a German term for ‘breakthrough’, illustrates the necessary need to stretch beyond our physical and mental limits, pushing through adversity in order to survive.
“My work is the collaboration of unrestricted experiments with color, materiality and structure. I use common items such as concrete, fabric, salvaged wood, steel and aluminum, to create pieces that explore my thoughts on social behavior, identity and our relationship with the built environment,” Simmons says.
Simmons’ work explores common building materials such as concrete, wood and aluminum, with pieces that blur the lines between painting, wall relief and sculptural installation. The work intends to challenge the perceived notions of stereotyping. After moving from Texas to Miami in 2008, Simmons was witness to the city’s explosive growth and was inspired to celebrate the culturally diverse neighborhoods privy to the inevitable gentrification by salvaging sections of buildings and homes slated for demolition and creating sculptures that would preserve at least a part of the quickly fading pasts by symbolizing the vibrancy of the areas’ diverse cultures.
“In my process, the laws of construction / deconstruction / reconstruction are expressed. I meticulously create each piece, randomly destroy portions of the work, then repair the piece. The impulsive act of deconstructing the piece makes room for a new unpredictable direction in the work,” Simmons says. “Giving the piece a role in dictating its final form. This process provokes continuous curiosity for me and the audience, urging us to look past the exterior, in search for what’s beneath the surface.”
His most recent exhibitions include VOLTA BASEL (2019), ART PARIS (2019), Dialogue: JanKossen Contemporary Chelsea, NY (2018) and Nuovi Orizzonti: Venice, Italy (2017-2018). He was a recipient of the 2018 Oolite: Ellie Creators Award. Simmons earned an Architectural Degree from Oklahoma State University and studied Environmental Science at Sam Houston State University.
CV
Troy Simmons Jr. (b.1975, TX)
TROY.SIMMONS@LIVE.COM | 305.527.2883
WWW.TROYSIMMONSSTUDIO.COM
Solo Exhibitions
2018 VOLTA NEW YORK , NY
2016 REVISITING BRUTALISM, Artium Art, Miami FL
2015 DURCHBRUCH, JanKossen Contemporary, Chelsea NY
2014 Genesis, Context / Art Miami 2014, Miami FL
2006 Modern Forest, 12 Forward Productions, Dallas TX
Selected Group Exhibitions
2019
Art Paris, Paris France
VOLTA BASEL, Basel Switzerland, Jankossen Contemporary
2018
MONOCHROME, Jankossen Contemporary NY, Chelsea, NY
Haitian Heritage Museum, Miami FL
Cornell Art Museum: Looking Back, Delray Beach FL
2017
Nuovi Orizzonti, Jankossen Contemporary Venice, Venice, Italy
Art New York, New York, NY
Art Wynwood, Miami FL
BAKING HISTORY: Wynwood’s Pioneer History, Audrey Love Gallery, Miami FL
THE BLUE EDITION: MIAMI, Art Bastion Gallery, Miami FL
2016
Context/Art Miami, Miami FL
SACRED GEOMETRIES, Art Bastion Gallery, Wynwood, FL
Locust Projects-Smash and Grab- Miami FL
Art Boca Raton, Boca Raton, FL
Art New York, New York City, NY
PSYCHEDELIC - JanKossen Contemporary, Chelsea, NY
JLM Miami Show House- Kampong- Miami, FL
2015
Context/Art Miami, Miami FL
Scope Miami, Miami FL
Locust Projects-Smash and Grab- Miami FL
7th Annual ALL Media Biennial, Art and Cultural Center, Hollywood FL
Art Southampton 2015, Bridgehampton, NY
RE-IMAGINED, Cornell Museum, Delray Beach FL
Art Paris, Paris, France
Scope New York, New York City, NY
ART PALM BEACH, Palm Beach, FL
BURST, University of Miami- Wynwood Gallery, Miami
2014
Scope Miami 2014, Miami FL
All Florida 63rd Annual Exhibition, Boca Museum, Boca Raton, FL
Art Hamptons 2014, Bridgehampton, NY
Art Southampton 2014, Southampton, NY
Edge of the World, Art House, Delray Beach, FL
RE, MAC Fine Art, Ft. Lauderdale, FL
Artopia, GALLERY One, Ft. Lauderdale, FL
Exhibition: Season II, Art House 429, West Palm Beach, FL
Art Palm Beach 2014, Palm Beach, FL
Art Wynwood 2014, Miami, FL
Urbanism: Perceived and Interpreted, Coral Gables Museum, Coral Gables, FL
2013
Context / Art Miami 2013, Miami, FL
Public Spaces, Macy’s South Beach, Miami Beach, FL
Together We Fly, Audrey Love Gallery, Miami, FL
Two of a Kind, Swenson Gallery, Miami, FL
LASR Art Fresh Paint, Miami, FL
Oscar Thomas Foundation’s 15th Annual Keepers of the Dream, Miami, FL
Abstractions, Gallery 101, Ft. Lauderdale, FL
Kontempo, Kontempo Art Gallery, Miami, FL
Spring Exhibition, Art House 429, West Palm Beach, FL
2012
Aspire (TV Network) Launch Gala, New York, NY
AVA Fine Arts, Acoustic Architects, Miami, FL
2011
Art In Empty Spaces II, Artistic Productions, Pompano Beach, FL
Art on the Boulevard, Great Spaces, Pompano Beach, FL
Close Encounters II, The Cuban Artist Project, Miami FL
2010
IMPACT, Hardcore Contemporary Art Space, Miami, FL
Art In Empty Space, Artistic Productions, Ft. Lauderdale, FL
Arts Out Loud, Gallery 101, Ft. Lauderdale, FL
Art Night Pompano, Artistic Productions, Pompano Beach, FL
2009
Basel Satellite Show, Miami Art Magazine --Design District, Miami, FL
Untitled, Miami Art Group Gallery, Miami, FL
Greener, Art Expressions, Ft. Lauderdale, FL
A Group Exhibit, Gallery A, Ft. Lauderdale, FL
Partners in Art, Chameleon Musicians and Broward Art Guild, Ft. Lauderdale, FL
Tropical Harvest, Artennae, Miami, FL
2004
Jubilee, Cultural Arts Alliance, Atlanta, GA
2003
Red River Valley Heritage Art Exhibition, Red River Valley Museum, Vernon, TX ----
(Betty King Write Award recipient )
2002
You Don’t Know the Half Of It, Main Street Gallery, Huntsville, TX
Public and Private Collections
Works held in private collections in the United States, Peru, London, Abu Dhabi, Germany, and Russia
Broadcast
The CW South Florida : Miami Art Week, 2017
NBC South Florida, 6 In The Mix, December, 2015
WLRN Public Radio, Non Profit Teams up with Local Artist, December 1, 2015
NBC South Florida, 6 In The Mix, December, 2014
Aspire Network TV, Comcast/ Magic Johnson, June, 2012 (commercial -ongoing)
ABC-Local 10, “Hot Happenings”- January 18, 2011
ABC-KOCO, “Downtown Developer- Block 42”-June, 2005
Publications
CULTURED - Dec-Jan. 2019
WHITE WALL MAGAZINE - Troy Simmons Makes His Mark On Wynwood By Katy Dononhue
THE MIAMI RAIL | Issue 22 – Troy Simmons: Urban Concrete, Human Color
BERLIN JOURNAL | American Academy Fall issue 2016 (cover)
BRICKELL Magazine December Art Issue 2016
KEY BISCAYNE Magazine December Art Issue 2016
MIA Magazine / Miami Herald December 2, 2015 (COVER)
Artnet News, Tuesday, March 24, 2015 Artnet Asks: Sculptor Troy Simmons
Luxe Interior & Design Summer 2015 (US South East Region)
Luxe Interior & Design Spring 2015 (national)
Art Of the Times, June 2013Pg. 35 By: Bruce Helander
Westside Gazette April 25, 2013 “Oscar Thomas Foundation's 15th Annual Keepers of The Dream" By: Carma Henry
Hispanos Report: January 25, 2013 "New Gallery of Contemporary Art" Kontempo Art
EIA Magazine, June 16, 2011 “Everything Is Art” (Volume Y) pg. 28-29
The Oklahoman December 7, 2007"Artist’s Entangling Sculptures Begin as Vines” By: Van Deventer, Micki
Time Record News, October 2004 “Red River Red Valley Museum Juried Art Exhibition”
Education
Oklahoma State University- Architecture Technology 2005
Sam Houston State University- Environmental Science 2002