After finishing graduate school at Cal-Arts in 1990 Gary Simmons set up his Manhattan studio in a former vocational school building where he found himself clearing away abandoned rolling chalkboards to make space for his sculptural works. Soon after, Simmons began his first series of chalk drawings on blackboards and it was this work, focusing on the development of racial, class and cultural identities within pedagogical settings, which paved the way for his signature "erasure" technique. An innately physical process, Simmons carefully erased drawn images, either partially or almost completely with his hands, and ultimately applied this exacting method to large-scale wall drawings and paintings. While Simmons, who has often defined himself as a sculptor, is widely known for his erasure drawings he has consistently worked across mediums. This comprehensive overview of Simmons's 20-plus year career brings together for the first time in a single publication his photographs, installations, sculptures, drawings and paintings.
Accompanying approximately 150 plates, Gwen Allen, Okwui Enwezor and Charles Wylie contribute critical essays offering diverse perspectives and insights into the ever-resonant work of Gary Simmons.