Rose B. Simpson

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Rose B. Simpson
Simpson in 2008
Born1983 (age 40–41)
NationalitySanta Clara Pueblo (Tewa)
EducationInstitute of American Indian Art, BFA
Rhode Island School of Design, MFA
Known forsculpture, ceramics
Notable workMaria
Websitehttps://www.rosebsimpson.com

Rose B. Simpson (Santa Clara Pueblo) (born 1983) is a mixed-media artist who works in ceramic, metal, fashion, painting, music, performance, and installation. She lives and works in Santa Clara Pueblo, New Mexico.[1][2] Her work has been exhibited at SITE Santa Fe[3] (2008, 2015); the Heard Museum (2009, 2010); the Museum of Contemporary Native Art, Santa Fe (2010); the National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian (2008); the Denver Art Museum;[4] Pomona College Museum of Art (2016); Ford Foundation Gallery (2019); The Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian (2017); the Minneapolis Institute of Art (2019);[5] the Savannah College of Art and Design (2020); the Nevada Museum of Art (2021); Whitney Museum of American Art (2023, 2024), and the Norton Museum of Art (2024).[6]

Education[edit]

Simpson studied art at the University of New Mexico and the Institute of American Indian Arts, Santa Fe, where she received her BFA in 2007.[7] She went on to receive an MFA in Ceramics from the Rhode Island School of Design in 2011[8] and another MFA in Creative Non-Fiction from the Institute of American Indian Arts in 2018.[9] She is also a graduate of the now defunct automotive science program at Northern New Mexico College in Española, New Mexico.[10]

Artwork[edit]

Simpson is a mixed-media artist whose artwork investigates the complex issues of past, present and future aspects of humanity's tenuous survival in our current ecological condition.[11] Common themes that appear in her artwork include identity, maternity, and ancestry.

Although Simpson is an indigenous person, she aims to occupy her own space within the art world rather than be confined to expectations of what Native art should be.[12] Simpson creates art that challenges western hierarchies of fine art by embracing cultural techniques and ideas passed down through her family heritage. She comes from a line of woman ceramic artists who passed their knowledge to her, and she still works alongside her mother, Roxanne Swentzell, and her young daughter when creating her art.[13] Reflective of this matrilineal knowledge-sharing, femininity and maternity are communicated through her emphasis on creation—her artistic process.[14] Simpson developed her own signature clay-making technique called “slap-slab,” in which she tears off pieces from very thin slabs of clay and assembles them together while intentionally leaving imperfections visible.[15] To her, evidence of process is a deep truth she does not want to conceal, so fingerprints, marks, and painterly brushstrokes are clearly visible in her ceramic works.

Simpson also creates performance art that she calls “transformances” because her intention with them is to transform herself and her audience. In her transformances, she works with other participants to take up space and march in public spaces wearing post-apocalyptic indigenous regalia to cause a transformation of perspective.[13]

Exhibitions[edit]

In 2021, Simpson opened the large-scale solo exhibition "Countdown," at Savannah College of Art and Design.[16]

In 2019 to 2020, her work was featured in the traveling exhibition, "Hearts of Our People".[17][18] Simpson exhibited the sculptural work, Maria, an homage to the San Ildefonso Native American ceramicist, Maria Martinez in which she modified and customized a 1985 Chevy El Camino with San Ildefonso blackware (glossy black on matte black) pottery designs.[19][20]

In 2018 to 2019 Simpson had a solo museum retrospective exhibition at the Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian, Santa Fe New Mexico, titled LIT: The Work of Rose B. Simpson.[2][21] The museum produced a catalog of Simpson's work in conjunction with the exhibition.[22][23]

In 2016 she had a solo exhibition, entitled Ground, at the Pomona College Museum of Art, California.[24] In this exhibition she acted within the role of artist and curator. She mined the museum's collections to recontextualize historical objects among her own sculptures to "obliterate the western dichotomy of aesthetic versus utilitarian objects to propose an indigenous aesthetic of use and human connectedness'.[24] Her intention in doing so was "to ground oneself is to reconnect physically to the earth, to root, to restore power, to build a strong foundation."[24]

In 2016, her work was included in Con Cariño: Artists Inspired by Lowriders at the New Mexico Museum of Art.[25]

In 2024 to 2025, she has an upcoming solo exhibition, entitled Strata at the Cleveland Museum of Art. Strata will be features in the Ames Family Atrium, and are "25-foot-tall figural sculptures that tower above the heads of visitors" constructed of clay and metalwork.[26]

Selected works[edit]

Maria (2014)

In 2014, Simpson created Maria, a modified and customized 1985 Chevrolet El Camino. In many ways, the automobile sculpture is rooted in place. First, it is inspired by her time living in Española, New Mexico, which is considered to be the lowrider capitol of the world. Through its title, Maria also tells a story of the potter Maria Martinez (San Ildefonso Pueblo), who is known for creating the “black-on-black style” which Simpson incorporated on the car’s exterior by using matte black paint as the base and glossy black paint for the traditional decorative designs.[27]. Finally, her choice of a car as the medium is a reflection of the time she spent studying automotive technology at Northern New Mexico College.[28]

Counterculture (2023)

Rose Simpson with "Counterculture"

In 2023, Simpson created a site-specific sculpture installation to be shown at the Field Farm in Williamstown, Massachusetts. The sculpture consists of 12 concrete-cast human-like figures that each stand 10 feet tall. The hollow-eyed figures are adorned with ceramic and found objects. Counterculture is a site-specific sculpture because the Field Farm is located on the ancestral homeland of the indigenous Mohican people, who were forcibly displaced by settler colonialism[29]. Simpson created this series of beings to represent ancestors who act as witnesses to the landscape and its history. They also stand as a way of remembering the indigenous people who once inhabited the land.

Collections[edit]

Awards, fellowships and residencies[edit]

Personal life[edit]

Simpson comes from a long line of Santa Clara Pueblo ceramic artists, including her mother Roxanne Swentzell,[44] her great-aunt Nora Naranjo-Morse, and her great her great uncle Michael Naranjo.[45] Her father is the sculptor, Patrick Simpson.[30]

Musical career[edit]

For a number of years, Simpson was the lead singer in the Native American punk band, Chocolate Helicopter.[46][47][48] She also played in the hip-hop band, Garbage Pail Kidz.[49]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Rose B. Simpson". Mud Season Review. Retrieved 2018-03-24.
  2. ^ a b Abaytemarco, Michael (December 7, 2018). "Review: Cabinets of curiosities: "LIT: The Work of Rose B. Simpson"". Santa Fe New Mexican. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
  3. ^ "Rose B. Simpson - SITE Santa Fe". SITE Santa Fe. Retrieved 2018-03-24.
  4. ^ "Rose B. Simpson". Pomona College Museum of Art. 2016-02-17. Retrieved 2018-03-24.
  5. ^ "Rose B. Simpson". Minneapolis Museum of Art. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
  6. ^ OctoberCMS. "Norton Museum of Art | Rose B. Simpson: Journeys of Clay". www.norton.org. Retrieved 2024-03-23.
  7. ^ "Rose B. Simpson". Artisan. Retrieved 21 June 2019.
  8. ^ "DUO: Rose B. Simpson | RISD Alumni". alumni.risd.edu. Retrieved 2020-02-13.
  9. ^ Duke, Ellie (2020-03-09). "Meet the US Southwest's Art Community: Rose B. Simpson Believes Culture Is for "Conscious Nurturing"". Hyperallergic. Retrieved 2021-04-12.
  10. ^ "3 Questions". Arc Publishing. Retrieved 2018-03-24.
  11. ^ Duke, Ellie (March 9, 2020). "Meet the Art Community of the US Southwest: Rose B. Simpson Believes Culture Is for "Conscious Nurturing"". Hyperallergic. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
  12. ^ Swentzell, Porter; Chavez, Yve (2019). Lit: The Work of Rose B. Simpson. Santa Fe: Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian. ISBN 978-0997310917.
  13. ^ a b Kukielski, Tina. “Rose B. Simpson in ‘Everyday Icons.” 2023. Art21, 13:40. https://art21.org/watch/art-in-the-twenty-first-century/s11/rose-b-simpson-in-everyday-icons/
  14. ^ Epp Buller, Rachel (2019). Inappropriate Bodies: Art, Design, and Maternity. Bradford: Demeter Press.
  15. ^ Finkel, Jori (16 June 2022). "Rose B. Simpson Thinks in Clay". New York Times. Retrieved 2 May 2024.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  16. ^ "Rose B. Simpson exhibition: 'Countdown'". SCAD.edu. Retrieved 2021-04-12.
  17. ^ "A groundbreaking exhibition finally tells the stories of Native women artists". PBS NewsHour. 2019-10-18. Retrieved 2020-01-06.
  18. ^ Catwhipple (June 5, 2019). "Exhibit is first major show of artwork by Native women". The Circle: Native American News and Arts. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
  19. ^ Keats, Jonathan (June 10, 2019). "A Spectacular Exhibit Of Indigenous Women Artists Counters 500 Years Of Exploitation And Ignorance". Forbes. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
  20. ^ Allaire, Christian (June 3, 2019). "In "Hearts of Our People," Indigenous Women Reclaim Space Through Art". Vogue. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
  21. ^ "Exhibitions › LIT: The Work of Rose B. Simpson". Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian. Retrieved 20 June 2019.
  22. ^ Swentzell, Porter; Chavez, Yve (2018). Lit: The Work of Rose B. Simpson. Santa Fe, NM: Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian. ISBN 9780997310917. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
  23. ^ "Rose B. Simpson". San Francisco Chronicle. August 24, 2019. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
  24. ^ a b c "Rose B. Simpson: Ground". Pomona College Museum of Art. Retrieved 21 June 2019.
  25. ^ Sanchez, Casey. "Auto-body experience: Rose B. Simpson and her El Camino". The Santa Fe New Mexican. Retrieved 2018-03-24.
  26. ^ "Rose B. Simpson: Strata | Cleveland Museum of Art". www.clevelandart.org. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
  27. ^ Swentzell, Porter; Chavez, Yve (2019). Lit: The Work of Rose B. Simpson. Santa Fe: Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian. ISBN 978-0997310917.
  28. ^ Archer, Sarah (19 June 2018). "Power Object: Rose B. Simpson's Maria". American Craft Council. Retrieved 2024-05-02.
  29. ^ Joyce, Erin (24 March 2024). "Rose B. Simpson's Antidote to Postcolonial Stress Disorder". Hyperallergic. Retrieved 2 May 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  30. ^ a b c d Diaz, RoseMary (December 26, 2017). "Art Characters". Taos News. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
  31. ^ "Rose Simpson, "Nurturer"". Online Collections. Denver Art Museum. Retrieved 21 June 2019.
  32. ^ "Rose B. Simpson, "Warrior"". Online Collections. Denver Art Museum. Retrieved 21 June 2019.
  33. ^ "Rose B. Simpson, "Explorer"". Online Collections. Denver Art Museum. Retrieved 21 June 2019.
  34. ^ "Rose B. Simpson". Online Collections. Portland Art Museum. Retrieved 21 June 2019.
  35. ^ "Simpson, Rose B. · SFMOMA". SFMOMA. Retrieved 2021-04-12.
  36. ^ "Joan Mitchell Foundation Announces Inaugural Fellows". www.artforum.com. 13 October 2021. Retrieved 2021-11-19.
  37. ^ "VIA Art Fund | Rose B. Simpson: Title TBD". VIA Art Fund. Retrieved 2021-04-12.
  38. ^ "FWM Announces 2021-2022 Cohort of Artists-in-Residence". The Fabric Workshop and Museum. Retrieved 2021-04-12.
  39. ^ "Rose B. Simpson | Tamarind Institute". Retrieved 2021-04-12.
  40. ^ "Visiting Artist: Rose B. Simpson". Anderson Ranch Arts Center. 2020-02-03. Retrieved 2021-04-12.
  41. ^ admin (2018-09-19). "Awards | Women's Caucus for Art". Retrieved 2021-04-12.
  42. ^ Wainright, Cecilia. "Santa Clara Artist Rose B. Simpson, Revives Ancient Arts With Contemporary Context". Jemez Post. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
  43. ^ "Rose Simpson: 2013 National Artist Fellowship". Native Arts & Cultures Foundation. 5 December 2012. Retrieved 21 June 2019.
  44. ^ "My Mother, The Builder". www.newmexico.org. 2020-06-17. Retrieved 2021-04-12.
  45. ^ Simpson, Rose B. (November 2018). "FOUND(ATION)". New Mexico Magazine. Retrieved 21 June 2019.
  46. ^ Montiel, Anna (Fall 2009). "Rose Bean Simpson: Pueblo Multimedia Artist challenges the viewer to think differently about gender, ethnicity and culture" (PDF). National Museum of the American Indian Magazine: 14–19. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
  47. ^ Dean, Rob (2010). Santa Fe: Its 400th Year : Exploring the Past, Defining the Future. Sunstone Press. p. 228. ISBN 9780865347953. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
  48. ^ Walsh, Candice; Diaz, Rosemary (12 September 2012). "Native Innovators: A look at some of New Mexico's 'It Artists'". New Mexico Magazine. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
  49. ^ Weideman, Paul (January 1, 2010). "Rose B. Simpson: Get back you dominant paradigms!". Pasatiempo Magazine (New Mexican newspaper weekly arts mag). Retrieved 10 March 2020.
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