Return to Homepage

Born in 1947, Ottawa, Ontario CANADA


" My work is on the border between abstraction and surrealism, formal design and automatism. I begin a work very spontaneously, often with the canvas lying on the ground and soaked with water to make the colors flow.

Then I proceed to re-draw and mould the shapes, alternately adding and removing layers of paint to reveal the implicit imagery. Ultimately, the painting tells me how to resolve the final result, which may, or may not, correspond to anything in nature.

My paintings are usually improvised from the beginning, without a preliminary sketch. Their final form is arrived at through the direct application of paint, while elements of drawing are repeatedly allowed to appear and then are covered over again, until a final result emerges.

A work may evolve into a lyrical, atmospheric work, or one where formal structures of design suggest the figure, the landscape, or even still life, but re-interpreted into a purely imaginative realm, creating a personal, yet universal, world of forms, whose meaning changes with each viewer."

Gregg Simpson, Decenmber 2007

  • Selected Solo Exhibitions
    • 2006: The Gallery at Artisan Square, Bowen Island, British Columbia, Island Passages

    • 2005: Queen Elizabeth Theatre, Vancouver, British Columbia, Figures in the Light

    • 2003:
        Salle des Artistes, Colomars (Nice) France, Une Nouvelle Arcadie

        Galeria Zero, Barcelona, Spain, Una Arcadia Nuevo

        Bfiy Atelier, Vancouver, BC, Selected Works, 1999-2003

        half hour documentary, national broadcast on Bravo TV, Canada, A New Arcadia: The Art of Gregg Simpson

    • 2001:
        Galeria Assioma, Prato, Italy, Selected Drawings

        Nice Airport, Nice, France, Une Nouvelle Arcadie

    • 2000:
        Salle du Couvent, Seillans, France, Selected Drawings, 1978-1999

        The Fortezza di Montalcino Italy, A New Arcadia

        Studio 10, Vercelli, Italy, Phantoms of Light

    • 1999:
        MacPherson Playhouse, Victoria, British Columbia, Recent Abstract Paintings

        Plaskett Gallery, New Westminster, British Columbia, Land of Light

    • 1997: Oktavia Gallery, Vancouver, British Columbia, A New Arcadia

    • 1996:
        Bennett Gallery, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Aprés Miro

        Montgomery Fine Arts, Vancouver, British Columbia, Land of Light

    • 1995: Torres Gallery, Vancouver, British Columbia, Figurations

    • 1994: Montgomery Fine Arts, Vancouver, British Columbia, Classic Mode

    • 1993: Richmond Art Gallery, Vancouver, British Columbia, Lyric Landscapes

    • 1991: Gallery Alpha, West Vancouver, British Columbia, Tribal Dynamics

    • 1988: Sinclair Centre, Vancouver, British Columbia, Cellular Mosaics

    • 1987: Vancouver East Cultural Centre, Vancouver, British Columbia, Modern Ghosts


  • Selected Group Exhibitions
    • 2007: Museu Vermhelo, Estremoz, Portugal, Urn Postal Para Mario Ceasariny -VIAGEM A ARCTURUS

    • 2006:
        Grand Forks Art Gallery, Grand Forks, B.C., West Coast Surrealism

        Salzburg Art Fair, Madrid, Spain

        Vigo Art Fair, Vigo Spain

        Montserrat Gallery, New York, NY, Salon

        Carteret Contemporary Art, Morehead City, North Carolina, Abstractions, (with Amy Ernst & Jenny Davis)

    • 2005:
        Museo Granell, Santiago de Composteta, Spain, West Coast Surreal, A Canadian Perspective

        Maison des Artistes, Cagnes-sur-Mer, France, Abstractions et Figurations

        Galeria Zero, Barcelona, Spain, Summer 2005

    • 2004: Galeria Zero, Barcelona, Spain, Contemporary Surrealism

    • 2003:
        Centre Culturel Christine Peugeot, Paris, France, Hommage du Petit Format

        Art Domain Gallery, Port Adratx, Mallorca, Spain, Convergences

    • 2002:
        Gruppo Batik Art, Barcelona, Spain, Inaugural exhibition

        Galeria Zero, Barcelona, Spain, Summer Exhibition

    • 1998:
        Exhibition toured throughout Italy, Binario Vivo: Ambiente E Creativa Sulla Strada Ferrata

        Canada Place, Vancouver, British Columbia, Art '98, International Art Fair

    • 1997:
        Studio 10, Vercelli, Italy, Electrica Moda

        Université de de Montréal, Nicolas Joseph Fine Arts, New York, NY, Maldoror Park, Diversité Surréaliste: 1935-1995

    • 1996:
        Salon Dugenteso, Vercelli, Italy, Il Cielo Contaminato

        College Camille Claudel, St. Quay Portrieux, France, Dessin Automatiste 1945-1995

    • 1995:
        CASE Gallery, Saritoga Springs, NY, Phases of Desire

        L'Atelier, Vancouver, British Columbia, Currents

        Vancouver Art Gallery, Vancouver, British Columbia, Vancouver: 1965-1975

    • 1994: Carleton University Art Gallery, Ottawa, Ontario, Constellations: Surrealism and Its Affinities

    • 1993: Galerie Lumière Noir, Montreal, Quebec, Lumière du Jour/Lumière Noir

    • 1991: Gallery Alpha, West Vancouver, British Columbia, Rainforests of the Mind; Fertility Rights; Geometric Expressionism; Fantastic

    • 1990: Artropolis, Vancouver, British Columbia

    • 1989: Sinclair Centre, Vancouver, British Columbia, Western Patterns

    • 1987: NeoArtism Gallery, Vancouver, British Columbia, Savage


  • Public and Corporate Collections
  • Richmond Art Gallery, Richmond, British Columbia
  • Canada Coucil Art Bank, Ottowa, British Columbia
  • Government Collection, Victoria, City of Vancouver
  • Carleton University, Ottawa, British Columbia
  • Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia
  • Christian Petroleum Company
  • Vancouver Art Gallery, Vancouver, British Columbia
  • Zentel Corporation, Calgary
    		•

    Selection of works from Gregg Simpson

    Read the guestbook of Gregg Simpson

    Sign the guestbook of Gregg Simpson

    • 2000: Solo Exhibition, Department of Foreign Affairs, Canada

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

    • 1976: Short Term Grant for Video, Canada Council

    • 1972: Materials Grant for Painting, Canada Council

    • Varney, Ed. Continental Drift, The Surrealist Influence. Catalogue Essay: 1999.

    • Wilson, Peter. "Figurations at the Torres Gallery," Vancouver Sun. 1995.

    • Pierre, Jose. In the Beginning. Monograph for selected works: 1990-1995.

    • Laroque, Yves. The Idea of Surrealism in English Canada. Doctoral Thesis for the Sarbonne University, France: 1996.

    • Johnson, Mia. Introduction to Tribal Dynamics: Preview. 1991.

    • Rosenberg, Ann. "Gregg Simpson: Tribal Dynamics," Vancouver Sun. 1990.

    • Varty, Alex. "Other Worlds," Vancouver Magazine. 1988.

    • Linsley, Rob. "Modern Ghosts, Richmond Art Gallery," Vanguard Magazine. 1988.

    • Pollack, Jill. Review of Modern Ghosts at Richmond Art Gallery. The Courrier. February 1988.