C.V.
Colin Sims, Born 1980, Atlanta, Ga.
www.colinsims.com
Exhibitions:
"Bloom" Mindzai Creative 2017
"Querent" Mindzai Creative 2017
"Alchemy" Beep Beep Gallery 2014
"Atlantaland" Mint Gallery 2013
"we Drank, We Drew" Cube Gallery 2013
My Statement
I paint surreal portraits, mostly in oils. At the heart of surrealism is of corse, absurdity. Camus writes, “Basically, at the bottom of life, which seduces us all, there is only absurdity, and more absurdity. And maybe that’s what gives us our joy for living, because the only thing that can defeat absurdity is lucidity.” We all inhabit an absurd world. Many of us have become numb to this, perceiving instead, banality. In regard to my artwork, it is my greatest ambition to jostle the viewer from this state so that we both may better appreciate our absurd world.
My mother taught me to draw realistic portraits, but told me that figurative art wasn’t taken seriously. She encouraged me to use my imagination to create unique imagery. During my formative years, I took her advice, emphasizing the more abstract. Little did we know that a new generation of figurative artists was emerging. I’ve taken great inspiration from this resurgence of the portrait in contemporary art.
In my recent body of work, I combine the techniques I’ve explored. I paint stylized subjects from reference photos, and cast them in dreamlike settings. My sources of inspiration include fairy tales, obscure religious rituals, archetypes, and psychology. I am currently exhibiting work in galleries in the Atlanta area alongside many brilliant emerging and established artists.