Artist Talk: Xaviera Simmons

Virtual Event.

Images and objects, stories and geography, bodies and landscapes: artist Xaviera Simmons binds these multiple themes together in artworks that explore the complexity of history. Whether creating photographs, performances, sculptures, texts, or paintings, her work is anchored in archival research. Of specific interest to the artist are those documents and artifacts that shed light on the lesser-known stories and experiences of Indigenous and Black Americans. Honoring the layers and nuances of those narratives, Simmons never relays them in linear fashion. Instead, her images embrace abstraction and metaphor—offering viewers accumulations of visual quotations to be explored and considered from multiple perspectives.

The Falk Visiting artist program is a partnership between the Weatherspoon and UNCG’s School of Art. In conjunction with her exhibition at the Weatherspoon, Simmons will be meeting and working with students and will present a public talk.

Image: Xaviera Simmons, Index Two, Composition Three (detail), 2012. Chromogenic color print, 50 x 40 in. Courtesy of the artist and David Castillo, Miami. © Xaviera Simmons