Lorna Simpson: Third Person - by Emma LaVigne (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

A resplendent showcase of Simpson's works from the past decade that foregrounds her celebrated foray into painting

Rising to prominence in the mid-1980s for her innovative approach to conceptual photography, American artist Lorna Simpson (born 1960) has continued to turn a critical gaze on the mechanisms of image composition--particularly within America, where racial and gender biases profoundly shape people's perceptions of themselves and others. Since the middle of the 2010s, painting has become a particularly fertile field of exploration for the artist, expanding the ways she tackles the great questions that lie at the center of her work: the erosion and rebirth of memory, the pitfalls of representation, the instability of narratives. In her intensely saturated, atmospheric paintings, majestic female figures frequently emerge from the pictorial matter, squarely confronting the viewer's gaze. This monograph showcases over a decade of Simpson's innovative painting practice alongside collages, videos, sculptures and installations. It features approximately 50 works, including canvases created for the 56th Venice Biennale, as well as several brand-new pieces.