About Gregg Simpson

Gregg Simpson is a Canadian artist living on Bowen Island in British Columbia. He is known for his colorful, abstract works, many inspired by surrealist traditions. His work has been included in hundreds of solo and group exhibitions starting in the 1960s and including museums and galleries in Canada, the United States, Europe, Asia, Australia, and South America. Numerous academic studies, art history books and journals published in Canada, Europe and Australia feature his work. Simpson is also included in several historical surveys on surrealism.

Simpson was born in Ottawa in 1947 and moved to Vancouver at the age of six months. His father was the noted architect D.C. Simpson who instilled in him his love of shape and form. His mother, Ferne Cairns, was a professional concert singer who fostered his love of music and appreciation for travel and art. He grew up in the mid-century modern home that his father designed in West Vancouver. The house bordered the dense forests of the Capilano Canyon area that he roamed through as a boy. This background is the foundation for the numerous landscape elements incorporated into his work.

In 2003, a nationally broadcast documentary was made for BRAVO TV on his life and work, A New Arcadia: The Art of Gregg Simpson reviews his background in the Vancouver art scene of the 1960s and 1970s and includes an footage of a solo exhibition at the Fortezza di Montalcino in Tuscany, Italy, in 2000.

Selected Exhibitions

2023

  • Terra, Galeria Angelica, Rome (group)

2022

  • Dream Gardens, Galleri Bredgade 22, Copenhagen;Galerie Azote Paris; MO C.A. Gallery, Rome
  • Inside and All Around me #2, Carlo D’Orta Gallery, Rome (group)
  • Vernice Art Fair, Forlì, Italy
  • Floating on the Water, ArteSpazioTempo, Venice (group)
    Aniconic, ArteSpazioTempo, Venice (group)

2021

  • Selected for Surrealism Beyond Borders, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York and the Tate Modern, London
  • Arte Padova, Padua, Italy (Art Fair)
  • Il Mundo di Colori, Pocket Art Studio, Rome (group)
  • Animal House-3, Forme d’art, Rivoli, Turin, Italy (group)

2020

2019

  • 100 Anos de Surrealismo, Centre Culturel Espacio Matta, Santiago Chile (international survey)
  • Quello Che L’Arte Raacconta, Spazioio Porpora, Milan, Italy (group)
  • Il Sentimenti del Mio Cuore, Mega Art Gallery, Corchiano, Italy (group)
  • Dream Gardens, Salle du Couvent, Seillans, France (solo)
  • Contemporary Summer in Assisi, Assinarte, Assissi, Italy (group)

2018

  • Shadow Talk, Artifact Gallery, New York (solo)
  • Lost Worlds, Adelinda Allegretti Gallery, Gualdo Tadino, Umbria, Italy (solo)
  • Pastel Journals, BIAC Gallery, Bowen Island, BC (solo)
  • Shen Zhen City Art Fair, China

2017

  • The Colour of Dreams, Galeria Arte Borgo, Rome (solo)
  • The Colour of Dreams, Galerie Meatanoia, Paris (solo)

2016

  • Viaggio Interiore, Spazio 40, Rome (group)
  • ARS a Milano, Spaziarti Art Ungallery, Milan (group)
  • Spring in Rome, Flyer Gallery, Rome (group)
  • Les LLaves del Deseo, National Library, San José, Costa Rica (group)

2015

  • Eye Candy, Loreta Larkina Gallery, Venice, Italy (2 person)
  • Kunst 2015, Gallery Zero, Berlin (group)
  • Asemic Writing, International Survey Exhibition, The Spiral, Birgu, Malta (group)

2014

  • Floral Immersions, (with Jeanne Sarich), BIAC Gallery, Bowen Island, BC
  • Cornucopia (collective works with Rik Lina and John Welson), Llianelli Library, Llianelli, Wales

2013

  • The Atlantean Years, 1970-1975, Fundacion-Museo Granell, Santiago de Compostela, Spain
  • Sentinelles, Espace Kaméléon, Paris (2 person with Guy Ducornet)
  • The Luminous Dance, Rouges-en-Verts, Normandy (solo)

2012

  • The Atlantean Years, 1970-1975, Museu Dom Dinis, Estremoz, Portugal (solo)
  • The Atlantean Years, 1970-1975, Museu Regional,Beja, Portugal (solo)
  • Surrealism 2012, Goggle Art Centre, Reading, PA (international survey)

2011

  • Out of the Forest, Evergreen Cultural Centre Gallery, Coquitlam, BC (solo)

2010

  • Totems Personelles, Espace Kameleon, Paris (solo)
  • Dream Totems, Colorida Gallery, Lisbon, Portugal (solo)
  • Coast Art Trust: Momentum, Leighdon Gallery, Vancouver (group)
  • Cross Connections: Four Decades of Contemporary Art in the Pacific Northwestt  University of Victoria Maltwood Gallery, Victoria, BC (regional survey)

2009

  •  El Umbral Secreto, Museo Salvador Allende, Santiago, Valparaiso and Talca, Chile,  (international survey)
  • Exposiçäo de Surrealismo actual Illuminaçöes Descontinuas, Convento de San Jose, Lagoa, Portugal (group)
  •   S.A.M. 2009, Chateau d’Auvers, Auvers-sur-l’Oise, France (art fair)

2008

  • O contrário do Olhar, Casa de Cultura, Coimbra, Portugal(international survey show)
  • West Coast Mediterranean, The Gallery at Artisan Square, Bowen Island, BC (solo)
  • El Surrealismo como fenómeno colectivo, Museo Granell, Santiago de Compostela, Spain

2007

  • Group exhibition, Montserrat Gallery, New York
  • Um Postal Para Mario Cesariny, Museu Vermhelho, Estremoz, Portugal (international group show)

2006

  • Salzburg Art Fair (with Galeria d’arte Gaudi, Madrid), Salzburg, Austria
  • Abstractions (with Amy Ernst), Carteret Gallery, Morehead City, North Carolina
  • Selected Drawings 1976-2006, Seymour Art Gallery, North Vancouver, BC (solo)
  • West Coast Surrealists, Grand Forks Art Gallery, Grand Forks, BC (group)

2005

  • West Coast Surreal, Museo Granell, Santiago de Compostela, Spain (group)
  • Abstractions et Figurations, Château Grimaldi, Cagnes-sur-Mer, France (group)

2004

  • Contemporary Surrealism, Galeria Zero, Barcelona, Spain
  • Summer Group Exhibition, Art-Domain Gallery, Port Andratx, Mallorca

2003

  • Euloge du petit format, Christiane Puegeot Cultural Center, Paris (international survey)
  • Selected Works 1999-2003, Bfly Atelier, Vancouver, Canada (solo)
  • Une Nouvelle Arcadie  Salle des Artistes, Colomars, France (solo)
  • Una Nuevo Arcadie, Galeria d’Art Zero, Barcelona, Spain (solo)
  • Convergency  Art-Domain Gallery, Port Andratx, Mallorca, Spain (group)
  •  Abstra, Akros Gallery, Bilbao, Spain (group)

2002

  • Europ’Art  2002 International Art Fair , Geneva, Switzerland
  • Inaugural Exhibition, Grupo Batik Art, Salona Barna, Barcelona, Spain (group)
  • Three Painters (with Richard Bond and John Haig), Evergreen Cultural Center, Coquitlam, BC (three person)

2001

  • Une Nouvelle Arcadie, Aérport Nice-Côte d’Azur, Nice, France (solo)
  • Selected Drawings 1978-1999, Galleria Assioma, Prato, Italy (solo)
  • A New Arcadia, Lichthaus Gallery, Innsbruck, Austria (solo)

2000

  • Déssins Selectionées 1978-1999, Salle du Couvent, Seillans, France (solo)
  • Una Nouva Arcadia, paintings and pastels, Fortezza di Montalcino, Italy (solo)
  • Phantoms of Light, digital art/pastels/paintings, Studio 10, Vercelli, Italy (solo)

1999

  • Continental Drift, Simon Patrich Gallery, Vancouver (group)

1998

  • Binario Vivo: Ambiente E Creativita Sulla Strada Ferrata, Vercelli, Italy (touring show)
  • Electrica Mente (digital art), Studio 10, Vercelli, Italy (group)
  • Maldoror Park, Diversité Surréaliste, Université de Québec, Montréal (international survey)
  • Art 98, Vancouver Convention Centre (Art Fair)

1997

  • Selected Artists, Nicholas Joseph Fine Arts, New York, NY, USA (group)

1996

  • il Cielo Contaminato, Salone Dugentesco, Vercelli and Trento, Italy (group)
  • Aprés Miro, Bennett Gallery, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC (solo)
  • Le Dessin Automatique 1945-95, Portrieux and Plœuc-sur-Lié, Brittany (survey)
  • Phases of Desire, CASE Gallery, Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, NY (group)

1995

  • Le Dessin Automatique 1945-95, College Camille Claudel; St.Quay, Brittany
  • Vancouver: 1965-75, Vancouver Art Gallery (survey show)
  • Constellations, Surrealism and Its Affinities Carleton University, Ottawa (donation of the collection of Michel P. Christensen)

1993

  • Lyric Landscapes, Richmond Art Gallery (solo)

1992

  •  Lumière du Jour/Lumière Noir, Galerie Lumière Noir, Montreal/Quebec (group)

1991

  • Tribal Dynamics, Gallery Alpha, West Vancouver (solo)

1986

  • Open Cages, Melmoth group, Pitt International Gallery, Vancouver (group)
  • Modern Ghosts, Richmond Art Gallery; Richmond, BC; (solo)
  • Exposicao Internacional Surrealismo e Pintura Fantástica, Teatro Iberico, Lisbon, Portugal  (international survey show)

1985

  • West Coast Surrealists, Simon Fraser University Gallery, Burnaby, BC (group)

1984

  • Retrospective: 1972-1984, Art Gallery of Algoma: Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario (solo)
  • Recent Works, New Art Gallery, Toronto (solo)

1982

  • Recent Works, Galerie Surrealiste, Toronto (solo)
  • Mixed Media Works, Forest City Gallery, London, Ontario (solo)
  • Arteder 82, Bilbao, Spain (international survey)

1981

Associations, Galerie Surrealiste, Toronto (group)

1980

  • On Canvas, Robson Square Media Centre, Vancouver (regional survey)
  • West Coast Surrealists, Gallery Move, Vancouver (solo)

1979

  • West Coast Surrealists & Paul Wunderlich, Bayard Gallery, Seattle (group)
  • West Coast Surrealist Group, Hindenberg Gallery, Bethesda, Maryland, USA (group)
  • WashArt ’79, Washington, D.C. (art fair)
  • Other Realities: The Legacy of Surrealism in Canadian Art, Agnes Etherington
  •  Art Centre, Kingston, Ontario; Canada House, London, UK; Centre Culturel
  •  Canadien, Paris;
  •  Paperworks: B.C. Collection, Canadian Cultural Centres, Paris; London, Brussels

1978

  • Surrealism Unlimited, Camden Arts Centre, London, UK, (international survey)

1977

  • From This Point Of View, Vancouver Art Gallery, Vancouver (local survey show)
  • West Coast Surrealist Group, Gallery Move, North Vancouver
  • A Survey of Recent Work, Gallery Move, North Vancouver (solo)

1975

1973

  • Canadian West Coast Hermetics Fine Arts Gallery, UBC; Centre Culturel Canadien, Paris; Ste. Brieuc, Brittany;Canada House,London, UK; Palais des Beaux-Arts, Charleroi, Belgium; McMaster University; McIntosh Gallery, U. Western Ontario; (group)
  • Claw Series, Galerie Allen, Vancouver (solo)

1972

  • The Private Patron, Vancouver Art Gallery, Burnaby (local survey)
  • Paintings and Collages, Open Space Gallery, Victoria (solo)

1971

  • Vancouver School of Collage, Fine Arts Gallery, UBC (local survey show)

1970

  • Carmen Lamanna Gallery, Toronto, Ontario (group)
  • Colour Optics: Burnaby Art Gallery (local survey)

1969

  • Normal Constants, Simon Fraser University (solo)
  • Intermedias, Art Gallery of Greater Victoria (group)
  • Focus ’69, Bau-xi Gallery, Vancouver (group)
  • Three person exhibition, Bau-xi Gallery (with Pierre Coupey and Ron Wattier)

1968

  • Spectrum ’68   Vancouver Art Gallery, Vancouver (local survey)

1967

  • Mandan Company Presents Western Supplies, Bau-xi Gallery, (group)

Academic Studies and Databases

2005

  • Surrealism and Mediology in English Canada, Université J.V. Picardie, Amiens,  Prof. Yves Laroque

2001

  • Essay on the New Arcadia series, by Prof. AntonioMalmo, Accademia Tiberina, Rome

1996

  • The Idea of Surrealism in English Canada, by Prof. Yves Laroque, Sorbonne, Paris

1981

  • José Pierre: Surrealism in Canada, Université Rabelais de Tours, France
  • Canadian Art Database, Concordia University, Montreal.
  • B.C. Artists, Sim Publishing, Victoria

Books, Periodicals, Reviews, Catalogues

2022

  • Nigredo (four works reproduced), Phasm Press, New York

2021

  • Surrealism Beyond Borders, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York and Tate Modern, London, Yale University Press
  • Patrick Lepetit, Aspects du Surrealism International Aujourd’Hui, Vocatif, Paris

2020

  • Western Terrace, Allan Graubard, pastels and collages, Ekstasis Press, Victoria
  • Little Guys, line drawings with poems by Scott Lawrance, Ekstasis Press.

2018

  • International Encyclopdia of Surrealism, Bloomsbury Press, London, (three volume set)
    The Milkmaid, Leida Torck, The Netherlands, collages and poems by Wijnand  Stemmers
  • Pastel and Pen, New Arcadia Publishing, pastels with stories by Carol M. Cram

2015

  • A Phala Vol. 2, Sao Paulo, Brazil (assorted paintings and works on paper)

2014

  • Il Surrealismo, leri e oggi, Arturo Shwarz, Skira, Milan

2013

  • Open Letter, Surrealism in Canada, Gregory Betts, Brock University Press
  • Gregg Simpson, The Atlantean Years: 1970-1975, Museu D. Dinis, Estremoz, and the Museu Regional de Beja, Portugal (catalogues)

2012

  • Derrame, L’edicion especial hommenage a Cruzeiro Seixas, Santiago, Chile

2011

  • Caleidoscopio Surrealista, Una visión del surrealismo internacional1919/2011, Miguel Corrales, Canary Islands, Spain
  • Out of the Woods, catalogue essay by Astrid Heyerdahl, Evergreen Cultural Centre

2010

  • Momentum, catalogue, Coast Art Trust, Vancouver

2009

  • El Umbral Secreto, catalogue, Museo Solidad de Salvador Allende, Santiago, Chile
  • O contrário do Olhar, catalogue, Casa de Cultura, Coimbra, Portugal
  • Classic Mode, A Reverie, Photographic study, New Arcadia Publishing.

2007

  • Um Postal Para Mario Cesariny, catalogue, Museu D. Dinis, Estremoz, Portugal

2005

  • West Coast Surreal, A Canadian Perspective, Museo Granell, Santiago de Compostela, Spain (catalogue essay by the director, Natalia Segarra)

2000

  • Un  Canadien  expose Salle des Arts, Nice Matin, Nice, France
  • Highlights im Lichthaus, Tiroliner, Innsbruck, Austria
  • Canadian Artist Expose a l’Aeroport de Nice, Le Petit Nicoise, Nice, France
  • Driven to Abstraction, Janet Smith, The Georgia Straight, Vancouver
  • Gregg Simpson Expose, review of Dessins Selectionées, Seillans, Var-Matin,
  • A New Arcadia, photo and notices, International Herald Tribune, Milan, Italy.
  • Gregg Simpson at Studio Dieci, L’Informaffare, Notzia Oggi, Vercelli, Italy

1999

  • Superiore Inconnu (feature page)edited by Sarane Alexandrian, Paris
  • Master Painters Showcase, International Artist magazine, Sydney, Australia
  • Dizionario Antologico e Critico Di Poeti, scrittori e artisti italiani contemporanei, edizioni Tigullio- Bacherontius, Turin, Italy

1997

  • Il Volo Di Icaro Utopia, tra sogno e realta quotidiana, Turin, Italy

1995

  • In the Beginning, José Pierre, essay, privately published, North Vancouver

1994

  • Constellations, Surrealism and Its Affinities, Carleton University (catalogue)

1991

  • Tribal Dynamics at Gallery Alpha, Ann Rosenberg, feature review:, Vancouver Sun

1985

  • Gregg Simpson: Works of Excavation & Transference,, Carol M. Cram, feature article, Terzoochio Magazine, Bologna, Italy.
  • New Mythologies/Inner Landscapes: West Coast Surrealists Revisited, Carol M. Cram, feature article: Vie Des Arts Magazine, Montreal

1983

  • L’Univers Surréaliste José Pierre:: Editions Somogy, Paris, France (text, bio and two illustrations)
  •  Contemporary Canadian Painting, Dr. David Burnett and Marilyn Schiff, Hurtig, Edmonton

1982

  • Gregg Simpson at Galerie Surrealiste, Elisabeth Topp, Artmagazine, Toronto

1980

  • West Coast Surrealists, Scott MacKillop, Artmagazine, Toronto

1979

  • Other Realities, The Legacy of Surrealism in Canadian Art, Natalie Luckyj,, Queens University Press, (Catalogue essay)
  • West Coast Surrealist Group, Gregg Simpson, Terzoochio, Bologna, Italy

1978

  • Surrealism Unlimited, catalogue, Camden Arts Centre, London, UK

1973

  • Simpson’s Surrealistic Claws and Crescent Moons of Atlantis, Joan Lowndes:, feature article, Vancouver Sun.
  • Saturated Scenes, collage novella, Intermedia Press, Vancouver

1972

  • Canadian Artists in Exhibition, Volume 2, Roundstone Press, Toronto

1971

  • Joan Lowndes: Surrealist Has Desert Mission: feature article, Vancouver Sun

1968

  • Household Words, collages, blewointment press

1967

  • Apocolips, collages and poems by Scott Lawrance, blewointment press

Collections

  • Museo-Fundacion Eugenio Granell, Santiago de Compostela, Spain
  • Lord Eastleigh Foundation, Brussels
  • National Museum of Fine Arts, Santiago, Chile
  • Museu Dom Dinis, Estrmoz, Portugal
  • Canada Council Art Bank, Ottawa
  • Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario
  • Carleton University Art Gallery; Ottawa
  • BC Government Collection, Victoria, BC
  • City of Vancouver Collection, Contemporary Art Gallery, Vancouver
  • Richmond Art Gallery, Richmond, BC
  • Simon Fraser University Gallery, Burnaby, BC.
  • University of Victoria, Victoria, BC
  • Evergreen Cultural Centre Gallery, Coquitlam, BC
  • Vancouver Art Gallery, Vancouver, BC
  • Lions Gate Hospital Foundation, North Vancouver
  • Vancouver General Hospital/UBC Foundation, Vancouver

Awards

2003

  • Canada Council Travel Grant for solo exhibitions in Spain and France
  • Diplôme d’Honneur, Associations des Artistes de Colomars, Colomars, France

2001

  • Made anAcademicien Correspondant, Accademia Internazionale Greci Marino, Vercelli, Italy.
  • Department. of Foreign Affairs and International Trade grant for solo exhibitions in France and Italy.

2000

  • Canadian Federal Govt. (DFAIT )grant for solo exhibitions in France and Italy

1976

  • Canada Council Short Term Grant: Video

1972

  • Canada Council Materials Grant: Painting

1971

  • Canada Council Arts Bursary: Painting & Research in Europe

1968

  • Canada Council Short Term Grant: Painting

  

 DOCUMENTARIES

2005

  • CBC Radio feature on West Coast Surreal exhibition in Spain.

2003

  • A New Arcadia, the Art of Gregg Simpson, Fountain Productions for Bravo TV

CURATORIAL

2005

  • West Coast Surreal: A Canadian Perspective, Fundacion Granell, Santiago de Compostela, Spain (four person group show)        
  • Abstraction et Figuration, Maison des Artistes, Chateau Grimaldi, Cagnes-sur-Me France (five person international group show)

1996

  • Pnina Granirer 1957-97, Richmond Art Gallery, Richmond, BC

1991

  • Fertility Rites, Gallery Alpha, West Vancouver (group)
  • Fantastic Visions, Gallery Alpha (group);
  • Rainforests of the Mind, Gallery Alpha;
  • Geometric Expressionism (group)

1989

  • Western Patterns, Sinclair Centre, Vancouver (group)

1979

  • Four Photo Process Artists, Gallery Move, North Vancouver

1973

  • Canadian West Coast Hermetics, The Metaphysical Landscape (with Alvin Balkind) UBC Fine Arts Gallery; Centre Culturel, Paris; Canada House, London, UK; St.Brieuc, Brittany; McMaster University, Hamilton; University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario.

ARTS ORGRANIZATIONS AND PROJECTS

1965

  • Founder of the Sound Gallery and participated in Motion Studio (1966) and Intermedia (1967-73) referred to as the “Golden Age’ of multi-media in Vancouver

1968

  • Co-founder of the Mandan Ghetto Gallery, Vancouver

1977

  • Co-founded the West Coast Surrealist Group, Gallery Move, North Vancouver
  • Co-founder of New Orchestra Workshop, Vancouver

1991

  • Curator of Gallery Alpha, West Vancouver

1992

  • Heritage Committee to save the Vancouver Public Library

1995

  • Urban Issues Committee, Vancouver Community Arts Council

2005

  • Co-founder of the Coast Art Trust Society

2019

  • Board member of the Bowen Island Museum and Archives

VIDEO/ EXHIBITIONS

1984

  • Art Gallery of Algoma, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario (solo installation)

1977

  • From This Point of View, Vancouver Art Gallery (group)

1976

  •  Video From Kitsilano, Image Forum, Tokyo, Japan (group)

1975

  • CAYC International Video Exhibition, Museo d’Arte Moderna, Caracas, Venezuela (international group show)
  • Vehicule Ltd., Montreal,
  • Group Exhibition, Artons, Calgary, (group)

1974

  • Video Bag, Burnaby Art Gallery (group)