Gary Simmons is a New York–born artist who lives and works in Los Angeles. Using icons and stereotypes of American popular culture, his work explores race, cultural politics, memory, personal experiences, and reconstructions of the past. Winner of the Studio Museum's Joyce Alexander Wein Prize (2013), his solo shows include Gary Simmons at MCA Chicago in 2002 and the Philadelphia Museum of Art in 2001, among others. His work is featured in major collections, including the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Park; the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; La Colección Jumex in Mexico City; the Walker Art Center; and the Whitney Museum of Art, among others. His work has been included in several Walker exhibitions including The Squared Circle: Boxing in Contemporary Art (2003). His installation Ghost Reels is on view at the Drawing Center in New York through October 7, 2017.
Forward Ever, Backward Never
Gary Simmons created Everforward—white boxing gloves embroidered with “Everforward” and “Neverback”—in response to turmoil: the killing of Yusef Hawkins, recession, AIDS. On Inauguration Day 2017, he reconsiders the work two decades later—its echoes and its call for artists and others to fight back.