Tommy Simpson
I found myself in Asheville, North Carolina after unexpectedly winning a three night stay from Jansen Art Center’s holiday silent auction fundraiser. The room I won was located right across the street from the Moogseum—something my music friends were excited about that I’m not qualified to fully appreciate. Knowing that whatever was happening in the Moogseum would be lost on me, I walked right by it only to be stopped in my tracks a few feet later by a large wooden hexagon covered in whimsical hand-carved and painted shapes. It looked like a oversized Petri dish teeming with microbes, or the sky of a distant planet swirling with alien life. The piece was full of movement and energy. I wanted it. I’d never wanted a large painting as much as I wanted the unusual piece in front of me in that moment.
I walked into the gallery, asked about the piece, and learned that the artist, Tommy Simpson, is local and visits the gallery frequently. The gallery owner, Shifra, said she’d give me a call when he was back if, I’d like to meet him. Having never purchased a piece from an artist I had not personally met before, I was thrilled that I wouldn’t have to. I told Shifra I’d be happy to meet Tommy and get his story firsthand.
The piece I was struck by is called “Skylight” and was originally part of the ceiling of a gazebo. When I asked him what the subject matter of the piece was, he said it made him think of flying creatures. I could imagine laying on the gazebo floor and looking up these energetic shapes and daydreaming. But I wouldn’t be walking out of the gallery with “Skylight” that day. It was already on hold for another collector. While I didn’t get the piece I wanted, I got something more valuable. A chance to hear from the incredibly skilled artist behind the work.
Tommy classifies himself as an “imaginist” and produces a wide variety of work including prints, paintings, furniture, carvings, sculptures, books, and jewelry. Tommy says “the ultimate goal” of his work “is to bring the artwork to life, so that the viewer can identify the human spirit behind the work, and experience its poetry.”
Tommy has an M.F.A. in Painting from Cranbrook Academy of Art, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, and a B.S. from Northern Illinois University, Dekalb, Illinois. He has won several awards including the Fellow Award from the American Craft Council, the Master of the Medium Award from James Renwick Alliance, and the Master Craftsman Award from the Society of Connecticut Grants.
Tommy Simpson
Asheville, North Carolina USA
For more artist biographies, visit jgreenwalt.com/artists