Menu
The New Contemporary Art Magazine

Greg ‘Craola’ Simkins Explores Mythical Landscapes in Upcoming Solo, “Where Am I?”

Greg 'Craola' Simkin's childhood memories have long played an important role and inspiration for his artwork. The playfulness of being a child comes together with creatures of the natural world in his mythical landscapes. He calls this world "the Outside", a place where the impossible becomes possible, and a cast of anthropomorphized animals set out on bizarre adventures. Simkins expands on this world in his upcoming solo exhibition, "Where Am I?" at KP Project/MKG, opening Saturday.

Greg ‘Craola’ Simkin’s childhood memories have long played an important role and inspiration for his artwork. The playfulness of being a child comes together with creatures of the natural world in his mythical landscapes. He calls this world “the Outside”, a place where the impossible becomes possible, and a cast of anthropomorphized animals set out on bizarre adventures. Simkins expands on this world in his upcoming solo exhibition, “Where Am I?” at KP Project/MKG, opening Saturday. Dreamy and swimming with impeccable detail, his large, painterly new works also leaves the viewer wondering, “Where am I?”  Simkins shares, “There is a point during our lifetime when we lose our childhood excitement and curiosities, and become infected with the problems of adulthood. It’s like a part of our brain begins to hibernate or even petrify year by year with every new responsibility. Growing up is a good thing, there are lessons to be learned and passed on to the next generation, but I believe we need to have these windows to glimpse back into and remind us of the feelings we had as a kid. What is the world like beyond the closet door, what is scratching at my bedroom window – what if there really are other worlds to explore and have adventures in — who are the strangers we’d meet there?”

Greg “Craola” Simkins – Where Am I from Birdman on Vimeo.

Meta
Share
Facebook
Reddit
Pinterest
Email
Related Articles
Venezuelan artist Jota Leal and Polish artist Dariusz Zawadzki each mix elements of the fantastic and the surreal in their artworks. The two artists headline Copro Gallery's current group exhibition "Morpheus", so named after its co-curators James Cowan and Morpheus Gallery in Las Vegas. Zawadzki's series exhibits the artist's skill in different media, mixing up oil painting, watercolor, and hand-embellished giclee pieces. His portraits of what look like post-apocalytpic villians out of Mad Max are treated with the rendering of old master painters.
Oil painter Vasilis Avramidis, first featured in Hi-Fructose Vol. 26, produces modern portraits of isolated landscapes, often depicting architecture in states of overgrowth. At the time of this interview, Avramidis confessed that he has settled in to his third studio location this year, a small studio in northern Greece. It is here that he has been putting the finishing touches on a new group of dramatically lit scenes based on memory and the overlooked. According to Avramidis, these paintings are as much about creating a familiar sense of place within a moment as they are about the absence of humans within the architecture. His latest works will be on view at The Contemporary London, located at Space W10 which opens on November 13th.
Mark Gleason’s new stirring, dreamlike oil paintings explore nocturnal and psychological themes. In a new show at La Luz De Jesus Gallery in Los Angeles, titled "Sleepless," the painter offers a new series of works that explore both broad and personal themes for the artist. The artist was last featured on HiFructose.com here.
Brooke DiDonato’s photographs put a strange touch on ordinary Western backdrops. The narratives, though vague, evoke intimacy in how it confronts its disappearing or despondent characters. In series like "Recess," "In Bloom," "Roses" and "A House is Not a Home," the artist is able to either inject fleeting beauty into undesirable places or extract surrealism out of the unassuming.

Subscribe to the Hi-Fructose Mailing List