Statement
I am an architect of worlds, using my preoccupation with my everyday thoughts as building blocks to construct sanctuaries of growth.
I use the process of drawing, painting, and sculpture to carve out portals to this world, where the object becomes the intermediary between the layer of memory that represents trauma, and an invented joy that is meant to subvert this pain.
The work becomes a compendium for a new visual language, carefully arranged to curate this space of healing.
Bio
Zack Simonson is interested in why he is interested, exploring this through the act of self-discovery and self-organization. His work exists at an intermediary between the real and the imagined, a space where play and invention become an act of meditation. His work has been shown at Pentimenti and Tiger Strikes Asteroid in Philadelphia, as well as Anna Zorina in New York. He currently lives and works in Philadelphia, where he teaches and maintains an at home studio practice.
CV
Education
2017 – 2019 Master of Fine Arts,
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts – Philadelphia, PA
2011 – 2016 Bachelor of Fine Arts, Painting
University of Wisconsin – Whitewater, Whitewater, WI
Group Exhibitions
2021 The Fellowship of PAFA Annual Exhibition, Gross McCleaf,
Philadelphia, PA
2021 The Codex Project, Works on Paper,
Philadelphia, PA
2020 Zoom In, Spillway Collective,
Philadelphia, PA
2020 5 to Watch, Avery Galleries,
Bryn Mawr, PA
2020 Iconologies, Tiger Strikes Asteroid,
Philadelphia, PA
2019 Ad Astra Per Aspera, Wassaic Project,
Wassaic, NY
2019 Proximity, Anna Zorina Gallery
New York, NY
2019 It is Here, It is Now, I Am, Pentimenti Gallery,
Philadelphia, PA
2019 A Song of Colors, FMC Tower,
Philadelphia, PA
2018 Without Roots We Are Nothing, Esther Klein Gallery,
Philadelphia, PA
2018 Two Cents Some Change, School of the Fine Arts Gallery,
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts – Philadelphia, PA
2018 A Place of Rest, Gallery 8
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts – Philadelphia, PA
2016 Annual Juried Student Exhibition, Crossman Gallery
University of Wisconsin – Whitewater
Juror: Derrick Buisch
2015 Annual Juried Student Exhibition, Crossman Gallery
University of Wisconsin – Whitewater
Juror: Nina Bednarski
2014 Annual Juried Student Exhibition, Crossman Gallery
University of Wisconsin – Whitewater
Juror: Sara Krajewski
2013 Annual Juried Student Exhibition, Crossman Gallery
University of Wisconsin – Whitewater
Juror: Colin Matthes