About Gregg Simpson

         A prolific and critically recognized artist and musician, Gregg Simpson has exhibited his paintings, drawings, and works
        on paper throughout Canada, the US, Europe, South America and Asia. His work is included in several academic studies,
        art history books and journals published in Canada, Europe, and Australia and has been exhibited in several historical
        surveys on surrealism and abstraction. His studio is on Bowen Island, BC, near Vancouver.
   
        Simpson is included in several museum, university and other public collections in Canada, Europe, U.S.A. , South America
        and Asia.

        The artist, who has been included in several academic studies in addition to many art history books and periodicals, has received
        numerous grants and awards  and been active in starting several art and music organizations. Simpson's works have also been used in
        several  television and film productions

        Nicole Donnely, a curator in Mexico City, wrote that Simpson's paintings flux between the solid, rooted world and the
        ethereal. Writer and Surrealist historian, José Pierre, a colleague of André Breton in the Surrealist Group, wrote that
        Simpson knows how to add pyramids and clouds, geometry and the breeze, the palpable and the impalpable, the visible
        and the invisible.

   Past Exhibitions


        2017
       
        * The Colour of Dreams, Galeria Arte Borgo, Rome (solo)
        * The Colour of Dreams, Galerie Metanoia, Paris (solo)

        2016

       *  Spring in Rome, Flyer Art Gallery, Rome, Italy (group)
       *  ARS in Milan, Spaziarti art ungallery, Milan, Italy (group)
       *  Racconti di viaggio, Galleria Spazio 40, Rome, Italy (group)
       *  Les Llaves  del Deseo, Cameleonart Foundation, San Jose, Costa Rica (international survey show)
       * A Luz Dos Castelos Evidracados, Collage Exhibition, Figueira da Foz, Portugal (international invitational show)

        2015

       *  Eye Candy, Loreta Larkina Gallery, Venice, Italy (two person with Prienne)
       *  Torre Guelfa, San Gimignano, Italy (solo)
       *  Kunst 2015, Berlin Art Platform, Germany (group)
       *  Floral  Immemrsions, BIAC Gallery, Bowen Island, BC (two person with Jeanne Sarich)

         2014

       * Cornucopia (collective works with Rik Lina and John Welson),  Llianelli Library, Llianelli, Wales, UK
 
         2013

      *  Sentinelles,  Espace Kaméléon, Paris, France (with Guy Ducornet)
      *  The Luminous Dance, Rouges en Vert, Soligny-la-Trappe, France (solo)
      *  The Atlantean Years, 1970-1975  Fundacion-Museo Granell, Santiago de Compostela, Spain (solo retrospective)

          2012
             
      *  The Atlantean Years, 1970-1975, Museu Municipal Dom Dinis, Estremoz and the Regional Museum de Beja, Beja, Portugal (solo retrospective)
      *  Surrealism 2012, Goggle Art Centre, Reading, Pennsylvania (international survey show)

         2011

       * Out of the Woods, Evergreen Cultural Centre, Coquitlam, BC (solo)
    * Collaborations (with Rik Lina and John Welson), BIAC Gallery, Bowen Island, BC

          2010
  • Totems Personelles, Espace Kaméléon, Paris, France (solo)
  • Dream Totems, Colorida Gallery, Lisbon, Portugal (solo)
    • Cross Connections: Four Decades of Contemporary Art in the Pacific Northwest, Legacy Gallery, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC,
     (Works from the Coast Art Trust Collection)
  • Momentum: 25 Artists From Past to Present, Leighdon Studio Gallery, Vancouver (group)

          2009

  • El Umbral Secreto:  Ecuentro Internacional de Surrealismo Actual, Museo Soledad Salvador Allende, Santiago, Chile; Valpraiso and Talca, Chile             (international survey show)
  • Exposiçäo de Surrealismo actual Illuminaçöes Descontinuas, Convento de S. Jose, Lagoa, Portugal (group)
  • S.A.M. 2009, Salle de l'Orangerie, Chateau d'Auvers, Auvers-sur-l'Oise, France (invitational survey show)
  • Coast Art Trust, New and Recent Works,  Evergreen Cultural Centre, Coquitlam, BC (group)

          2008

  • El Surrealismo como fenómeno colectivo, Fundacion- Museo Granell, Santiago de Compostela, Spain (show of the permanent collection)
  • West Coast Mediterranean, paintings, drawings, and mixed media works, BIAC Gallery, Bowen Island, BC (solo)
  • Reverso Do Olhar: Exposiçâo Internacional de Surréalismo Actual, Casa da Cultura, Coimbra, Portugal (international survey show)

         2007

  • Gallery artists, Montserrat Gallery, New York (group)
    • Viagem a Arcturus, Um Postal Para Mario Cesariny, Museu Vermhelho, Estremoz, Portugal (group)

         2006

  • Salzburg Art Fair (with Galeria d’arte Gaudi, Madrid), Salzburg, Austria (art fair)
  • Abstractions, with Amy Ernst & Jenny Davis, Carteret Gallery, Morehead City, NC
  • Selected Drawings, 1976-2006, Seymour Art Gallery, North Vancouver, BC (solo)
  • Early Works from the Coast Art Trust Collection, North Vancouver Museum, North Vancouver, BC (group)

         2005

  • West Coast Surreal: A Canadian Perspective, Fundacion, Eugenio Granell, Santiago de Compostela, Spain (group)
  • Island Passages, BIAC Gallery, Bowen Island, BC (solo)
  • Abstractions et Figurations, Maison des Artistes, Château Grimaldi, Cagnes-sur-Mer, France (group)
  • Summer 2005, Galeria Zero, Barcelona, Spain (group)

        2004

  • Summer group exhibition, Art Domain, Port Andratx, Majorca, Spain

        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.com Gallery, Port Andratx, Mallorca, Spain (group)
  • Abstra,  Akros Gallery, Bilbao, Spain (group)

        2002

  • Europ’Art  2002, Palais des Expositions, Geneva, Switzerland (art fair)
  • Summer 2002, Galeria Zero, Barcelona, Spain (group)
  • Inaugural Exhibition, Grupo Batik Art, Salona Barna, Barcelona, Spain (group)
  • West Coast Dreamers, Exhibition Centre, Harrison Hot Springs, BC (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, Ontario Art and Light Gallery, Innsbruck, Austria (solo)
  • Artropolis 2001, CBC Building, Vancouver, BC (group)

        2000

  • Déssins Selectionées 1978-1999, Salle du Couvent, Seillans, France (solo)
  • A New Arcadia, paintings and pastels, Fortezza di Montalcino, Italy (solo)
  • Phantoms of Light, digital art/ pastels/ paintings, Studio 10, Vercelli, Italy (solo)
  • Gotcha! Digital Images, Vancouver East Cultural Centre, Vancouver, BC (group)

        1999

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

        1998

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

        1997

  • 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, College Camille Claudel; St.Quay, Portrieux and Plœuc-sur-Lié, Brittany (international survey show)

        1995

  • Vancouver: 1965-75, Vancouver Art Gallery (group)
  • Le Dessin Automatique 1945-95, Phases Group, College Camille Claudel; St.Quay, Portrieux, Brittany, France  (international survey show)
  • Phases of Desire, CASE Gallery, Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, New York  (group)
  • Currents, L’Atelier, Vancouver, BC (group)

        1994

  • Constellations: Surrealism and Its Affinities, Carleton University Art Gallery, Ottawa  (international survey show)
  • Permanent Collection, Richmond Art Gallery, Richmond, BC (group)

        1993

  • Lyric Landscapes, Richmond Art Gallery (solo)
  • Three Vancouver Artists, Community Arts Council Gallery, Vancouver, BC (three person)

        1992

  • Lumière du Jour/Lumière Noir, Galerie Lumière Noir, Montreal, Quebec (international survey show)
  • Head/Hunter/Simpson with Kevin Head and Miles Hunter, Gallery Alpha, West.Vancouver (three person)

        1991

  • Tribal Dynamics, Gallery Alpha, West Vancouver (solo)
  • Rainforests of the Mind (also Curator), Gallery Alpha, West Vancouver, BC (group)
  • Fertility Rites (also Curaator), Gallery Alpha, West Vancouver, BC (group)
  • Geometric Expressionism (also Curator), Gallery Alpha, West Vancouver, BC (group)
  • Fantastic Visions (also Curator), Gallery Alpha, West Vancouver, BC (group)

        1990

  • Artropolis 90, The Roundhouse,Vancouver (group)

        1989

  • Waterfall Series, Centennial Theatre, North Vancouver, BC (solo)
  • Western Patterns, Sinclair Centre (also Curator)
  • The Ferry Building Gallery (solo)

        1988

  • Cellular Mosaics, Sinclair Centre, Vancouver (solo)

        1987

  • Modern Ghosts, Vancouver East Cultural Center (solo); Savage, NeoArtism Gallery, Vancouver (group)

        1986

  • Modern Ghosts, Richmond Art Gallery, Richmond, BC (solo)
  • Paintings and Watercolours, New Westminster Art Center, New Westminster, BC (solo)
  • Exposicao Internacional Surrealismo e Pintura Fantástica, Teatro Iberico, Lisbon, Portugal  (international survey show)
  • Open Cages, Pitt International Gallery, Vancouver, BC (group)
  • Contemporary Living, Park Place, Vancouver (solo)

        1985

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

        1984

  • 12-Year Retrospective, Art Gallery of Algoma, Sault Ste. Marie, ON (solo)
  • Paintings from the 1980s, New Art Gallery, Toronto, ON (solo)
  • Gallery Artists: New Art Gallery, Toronto, Ontario (group)

        1982

  • Paintings and Collages, Galerie Surrealiste, Toronto, ON (solo)
  • Mixed Media Works, Forest City Gallery, London, ON (solo)
  • Arteder 82: Bilbao, Spain ( (international survey show)
  • Melmoth Gallery, Vancouver (group)

        1981

  • Cellular Mosaics, Gallery Move, Vancouver, BC (solo)
  • Paintings and Mixed Media, Music Gallery, Toronto, ON (solo)
  • Associations, Galerie Surrealiste, Toronto (group)

        1980

  • West Coast Surrealists, Gallery Move, Vancouver (group)
  • On Canvas: Robson Square Media Centre, Vancouver (group)
  • Insights, Preparatory works for On Canvas Exhibition Simon Fraser University Gallery (group)
  • Gallery Artists:, Gallery Move, Vancouver, BC (group)

        1979

  • A Survey of Paintings, Gallery Move, North Vancouver, BC (solo)
  • West Coast Surrealists & Paul Wunderlich: Bayard Gallery, Seattle, Wash., USA (group)
  • West Coast Surrealist Group, Hindenberg Gallery, Bethesda, Maryland, USA;
  • WashArt ‘79, Pyramid Gallery, Washington, DC, USA (group)
  • Gallery Artists: Gallery Move, North Vancouver, BC (group)

        1978

  • Helix Series, Gallery Move, Vancouver, BC (solo)
  • Surrealism Unlimited, Conroy Maddox and Friends, Camden Arts Centre, London, England  (international survey show)
  • Other Realities: The Legacy of Surrealism in Canadian Art, Agnes Etherington Art Centre, Kingston, Ontario; Canada House, London, England ; Centre Culturel Canadien, Paris, France (group)
  • West Coast Surrealist Group,  Gallery Move, North Vancouver (group)

        1977

  • From This Point of View, Vancouver Art Gallery (group)       
  • West Coast Surrealist Group, Gallery Move, North Vancouver (group)
  • Paperworks,  BC Government Collection, Canadian Cultural Centers: Paris, London, Brussels (group)

        1976

  • Pacific Rim Consciousness, University of Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur; Bogota, Colombia (group)

        1975

  • Pacific Rim Consciousness,  Simon Fraser University Gallery, Burnaby, BC (group)
  • Multi-Media Performance, Agnes Etherington Art Centre, Kingston, ON (solo)

        1974

  • Canadian West Coast Hermetics, The Metaphysical Landscape,  McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario; McIntosh Gallery,
  • University of Western Ontario (group)
  • Works from 1964-1974, Vancouver Artists' Gallery, Vancouver, BC (solo)

        1973

  • Claw Series, Galerie Allen, Vancouver, BC (solo)
  • Canadian West Coast Hermetics, The Metaphysical Landscape, Fine Arts Gallery, University of British Columbia;  Centre Culturel Canadien, Paris; Exhibition Centre; St. Brieuc, Brittany; Canada House; London; Palais des Beaux-Arts, Charleroi, Belgium; McMaster University Art Gallery, Hamilton; McIntosh Gallery (University of Western Ontario, London.) (group)

        1972

  • Paintings and collages, Open Space Gallery, Victoria, BC (solo)
  • The Private Patron, Simon Fraser University Gallery, Burnaby, BC (group)
  • Mythodromus, Avelles Gallery, Vancouver (group)

        1971

  • A City Collects, Vancouver Art Gallery, Vancouver (group)
  • Divine Order of the Lodge Salon: Avelles Gallery, Vancouver (group)
  • Vancouver School of Collage, Fine Arts Gallery, UBC (group)

        1970

  • Carmen Lamanna Gallery, Toronto, Ontario (group)
  • Colour Optics, Bunaby Art Gallery (group)

        1969

  • Normal Constants, Simon Fraser University Gallery, Burnaby, BC (solo)
  • Kinetic & Light Sculpture,  Art Gallery of Greater Victoria
  • Focus ‘69, Bau-Xi Gallery, Vancouver
  • Three Man Show, Bau-Xi Gallery, Vancouver, with Pierre Coupey and Ron Wattier

        1968

  • Mandan Ghetto Gallery, Vancouver; Spectrum ‘68: Vancouver Art Gallery, Vancouver (group)
  • UBC Graduate Centre with Pierre Coupey and Ken Christopher


        1967

  • Mandan Company Presents Western Supplies: Bau-Xi Gallery, Vancouver (group)

   

Education

        1962
  • Private studies with Chicago painter, Charles Stegman, West Vancouver

        1963

  • Night courses, Vancouver School of Art

        1964

  • Extension Courses, University of B.C.: Painting (Don Jarvis), Life Drawing (Bruce Boyd), Sculpture (Gerhard Class)

        1965

  • Summer session, Painting (Ron Stonier) Vancouver School of Art

        1966-67

  • Vancouver School of Art - 1st year program with David Mayrs.

      

  Awards

        2003: Canada Council Travel Grant for exhibitions in France and Spain.

        2001: Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs Grant for exhibitions in Austria, France and Italy

        2000:  Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs Grant for exhibitions in France and Italy
                   Made an Academicien Correspondant of the Accademia Internazionale Greci Marino, Accademia del Verbano, Vercelli, Italy

        1993:  North Shore Arts Commission: Public Art Project, Versatile Shipyard, North Vancouver

        1976:  Canada Council Short Term Grant for Video

        1972:  Canada Council Materials Grant: Painting

        1971:  Canada Council Arts Bursary for Research in Europe

        1968: Canada Council Short Term Grant: Painting


 Collections

        Fundacion-Museo Eugenio F. Granell, Santiago de Compostela, Spain
        Cypress College, Los Angeles       
        National Museum of Fine Arts, Santiago, Chile
        Museu Dom Dinis, Estremoz, Portugal
        Lord Eastleigh Foundation, Monaco/Brussels     
        Evergreen Cultural Centre Gallery, Coquitlam, BC
        University of Victoria, Victoria, BC     
        Vancouver Art Gallery, Vancouver, BC
        Canada Council Art Bank, Ottawa
        Ontario Agnes Etherington Art Centre, Kingston, Ontario
        Carleton University Art Gallery; Ottawa
        British Columbia Government Collection, Victoria, BC
        City of Vancouver Collection, Vancouver, BC
        Richmond Art Gallery, Richmond, BC
        Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC
        Edouard Jaguer, PHASES Collection, Paris
        Michel P.Christensen, Toronto
        Christian Petroleum Company, Vancouver
        Zentel Corporation, Calgary
        InterPro Contractors, Vancouver
        Frank Lo, Lo Kit Loon, Hong Kong
        Several other private collections in Canada, USA, Europe, the UK, Hong Kong, and Korea.

        Recent donations to Museums, Universities and Public Galleries


Critical Writing, Reviews and Publications


   2016
      A Luz Dos Castelos Evidracados, (exhibition catalogue), Figueira da Foz, Portugal

    2015
      A Phalla,  Revista do Movimento Surrealista, Sao Paulo, Brazil
      Il surrealismo. leri oggi, Arturo Schwarz, Skira Publishers, Milan
     
      2013
      Open Letter, Surrealism in Canada, Gregory Betts, Brock University Press

     2012
     Derrame, L'edicion especial hommenage a Cruzeiro Seixas, Santiago, Chile
     2011
      Caleidoscopio Surrealista, Una visión del surrealismo internacional-1919/2011, Miguel Corrales
      Out of the Woods and into the Mind, catalogue essay by curator, Astrid Heyerdahl

     2009
      El Umbral Secreto, catalogue from Museo Solidad de Salvador Allende, Santiago

     2008
      O contrário do Olhar, catalogue from the Casa de Cultura, Coimbra, Portugal
               
     2005
      West Coast Surreal, A Canadian Perspective, Museo Granell, Santiago de Compostela, Spain (catalogue essay by Natalia Segarra)

     2003
     Un  Canadien  expose Salle des Arts, Nice Matin, Nice, France

     2002
     Artist Doesn’t Conform To Mold, ArtistsinCanada feature by Paul Constable.
     2001
     Highlights im Lichthaus, Tiroliner, Innsbruck, Austria
     Canadian Artist Expose a l'Aeroport de Nice, Le Petit Nicoise, Nice, France

     2000
     Janet Smith, Driven to Abstraction, feature article, 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, Edizioni Tigullio- Bacherontius, Turin, Italy
 

       1995
       José Pierre: In the Beginning, Gregg Simpson,  essay, Paris , 1995

       1994
       Constellations, Surrealism and Its Affinities, Carleton University (catalogue)

       1990
        Ann Rosenberg, Feature review: Tribal Dynamics, Vancouver Sun

       1986
        Robert Linsley, review of Modern Ghosts, Vanguard Magazine
      
       1985
       Carol M. Cram, Gregg Simpson: Works of Excavation & Transference: Feature article in Terzoochio Magazine, Bologna, Italy.
       Carol M. Cram: New Mythologies/Inner Landscapes: West Coast Surrealists Revisited, feature article: Vie Des Arts Magazine, Montreal

       1983
        José Pierre: L’Univers Surréaliste: Editions Somogy, Paris
        Dr. David Burnett, and Marilyn Schiff, Contemporary Canadian Painting, Hurtig Publishing, Edmonton

        1982
        Elisabeth Topp: Gregg Simpson at Galerie Surrealiste, Artmagazine, Toronto

        1980
        Scott MacKillop: West Coast Surrealists: feature review, Artmagazine, Toronto
    
        1979
        Natalie Luckyj: Other Realities, The Legacy of Surrealism in Canadian Art  (catalogue essay, Queens University Press)
        The West Coast Surrealist Group, feature article by Gregg Simpson, Terzoochio Magazine, Bologna, Italy

        1975     
        Les Peintres hermétiques de la Côte Ouest du Canada, feature article by Brad Collins, Vie des Arts, Montreal

        1973
        Joan Lowndes: Simpson’s Surrealistic Claws and Crescent Moons of Atlantis, feature article, Vancouver Sun.

         1972
         Canadian Artists in Exhibition, Volume 2, Roundstone Press, Toronto

         1971
        Joan Lowndes: Surrealist Has Desert Mission: feature article, Vancouver Sun
        Richard Simmins, feature review of the Vancouver School of Collage, UBC Fine Arts Gallery,  (reproduced  assemblages by Gregg Simpson), Vancouver Sun
        Joan Lowndes, review of the Vancouver School of Collage, UBC Fine Arts Gallery, Vancouver Province

        1969
        Light Box sculpture mentioned in review of Intermedias, Victoria Art Gallery.
 
        1968
        Review of Collage Exhibition, Mandan Ghetto by Maija Bismanis, Vancouver Sun

Top of Page

Academic Studies:  

        2005: Surrealism and Mediology in English Canada, Université J.V. Picardie, Amiens, Prof. Yves Laroque

        2001: Essay on the New Arcadia Series, Prof. Antonio Malmo, Accademia Tiberina, Rome, Italy

        1996: The Idea of Surrealism in English Canada, Prof. Yves Laroque, Sorbonne, Paris

        1981: José Pierre: Surrealism in Canada, Université Rabelais de Tours, France


  Affiliations
.
      Co-founder of Coast Art Trust Society, Vancouver, 2005-2011
       West Coast Surrealist Group, 1977-2014
       New Orchestra Workshop, 1977-2012
       Intermedia, Vancouver, 1967-73

   Co-Exhibitors

         International:
            Pierre Alechinsky, Jean Arp, Hans Bellmer, Joseph Beuys, Alexander Calder, Jorge Camacho, Christo, Salvador Dali,  Adrien Dax, Marcel Duchamp, Max Ernst, ,
            Alberto Giacometti, Wifredo Lam, Le Corbusier, Rik Lina, Conroy Maddox, Rene Magritte, Andre Masson, Robero Matta, Joan Miro, Henry Moore,
            Robert Motherwell, Meret Oppenheim, Man Ray, Dorothea Tanning, Antonio Tapies, Andy Warhol, Victor Vasarely, John Welson, Alfred Wols, Paul Wunderlich.

         Canadian:
            Leon Bellefleur, Jean Benoit, Paul Emile Borduas, Kittie Bruneau, Marcel Ferron, Roland Giguerre, Pnina Granirer, Don Jarvis, Jock MacDonald,
            Guido Molinari, Alfred Pellan, Ivan Eyre, Jean Paul Riopelle, Toni Onley, William Ronald, Jack Shadbolt, Tony Urquhart, Jeff Wall, Ian Wallace,
            Joyce Weiland, Jack Wise, Alan Wood.