From collaging photos from ads in vintage issues of Jet and Ebony magazines to breaking down subjects into fragments of hair or the body, Lorna Simpson (b. 1960) takes a conceptual approach to photography in her ongoing examination of identity.
Whether it’s the 21 lithographs printed on felt of various hairstyles for her Wigs (Portfolio) (1994) or her Guarded Conditions (1989) series, which calls out the violence that Black women encounter with its fragmentation of a woman’s body across color Polaroid prints, Simpson’s best-known projects comprise text and image to confront conventional ideas of beauty, gender and race. In particular, she uses her own experiences in radical work that often challenges universally perpetuated beauty standards that have long excluded Black women.
Born in Brooklyn, New York, where she continues to live and work, Simpson initially took documentary photographs as she traveled the world in the 1970s. She then studied at the School of Visual Arts in New York and the University of California San Diego, earning her MFA in visual arts there in 1985. It was in graduate school in the 1980s that Simpson shifted her perspective in photography to grapple with complex ideas of objectivity. Some of her early projects combined text with studio images, mostly of Black women, to highlight how photographs are shaped by both context and expectations. Later expanding into film, painting, drawing and sculpture, Simpson has retained that interest in representation and memory at the center of her work, regardless of medium.
In 1990, Simpson became the first Black woman to exhibit at the Venice Biennale, and her career has included solo shows at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art and the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York.
Find art by Lorna Simpson on 1stDibs.
$1,960Sale Price|20% Off
III (Wish #1, Wish #2, Wish #3) Set of 3 Wishbones - Peter Norton Christmas Gift
By Lorna Simpson
Located in Soquel, CA
III (Wish #1, Wish #2, Wish #3) Set of 3 Wishbones - Peter Norton Christmas Gift Fanciful set of three different wishbones by Lorna Simpson (American, b. 1960). Three wishbones, one...
Bronze
Partition and Time
By Lorna Simpson
Located in Toronto, Ontario
Lorna Simpson is an American artist renowned as a pioneer of conceptual photography. Her artwork, regardless of medium, explores the interplay between historical memory, culture, and...
Silver Gelatin
$8,800
Recall from the Exit Art/1st World Portfolio Silkscreen on Felt, Pencil Signed/N
By Lorna Simpson
Located in New York, NY
LORNA SIMPSON Recall, from the Exit Art/The First World Portfolio, 1998 Silkscreen on Felt 30 × 22 inches Hand signed and numbered 17/50 on the front Unframed This impressive silkscr...
Felt, Screen
Recall by Lorna Simpson
By Lorna Simpson
Located in New York, NY
Lorna Simpson Recall, 1998 Silkscreen on felt 30 x 22 inches Edition of 50 Hand signed and numbered by the artist
Felt, Screen
$6,800
H 48 in W 31 in D 2.5 in
Tumsae No 1 - red, white, pattern, 3D, felt, textile, tapestry, wall hanging
By Chung-Im Kim
Located in Bloomfield, ON
The natural world provides infinite inspiration for the beautifully textured work of Chung-Im Kim. The fabric artist creates unique wall hangings from sewing tiny pieces of industria...
Felt, Thread, Mixed Media, Screen
Emerald Lady
By Tiefeng Jiang
Located in Palm Springs, CA
In "Emerald Woman" by Chinese artist Jiang Tie-Feng, a sensuous, jade-green female figure is depicted astride a vividly rendered horse, fusing human form with the spiritual energy of...
Screen
Limited Edition Photographic Art Print "Preparing"
Located in Cape Town, ZA
A limited edition (out of 25) black and white photographic print. Framed with a black or white box frame and floated to the backboard. The dimensions of 33.5 x 45 cm is that of the p...
Archival Paper, Giclée
$8,000
H 48 in W 48 in D 4 in
Moolbora - white, textured, biomorphic, abstract, industrial felt wall sculpture
By Chung-Im Kim
Located in Bloomfield, ON
This contemporary white and blue-gray tapestry was hand-sewn by Canadian fabric artist Chung-Im Kim. Inspired by her own rich heritage and intricate patt...
Felt, Thread, Mixed Media
$6,800
H 48 in W 31 in D 2.5 in
Tumsae No 7 - red, white, abstract, contemporary, industrial felt wall sculpture
By Chung-Im Kim
Located in Bloomfield, ON
Striking organic shapes in bright red provide dramatic contrast in this cream felt tapestry by fabric artist Chung-Im Kim. Kim meticulously hand stitches together small pieces of ind...
Felt, Thread, Mixed Media, Screen
$3,200Sale Price|46% Off
H 34.646 in W 28.8 in
Fin Dac Layeoja Redux Series Contemporary Street Artist Silkscreen Print
Located in Draper, UT
TITLE: Fin Dac Layeoja Redux Series YEAR: 2021 CLASSIFICATION: Limited edition MEDIUM TYPE Fine Art Silkscreen Print MEDIUM/MATERIALS 10 Colour Screen Print on...
Varnish, Screen
$480
H 13.19 in W 18.59 in
Limited Edition Photographic Art Print "Day Dreaming in Paris"
Located in Cape Town, ZA
A limited edition (out of 25) black and white photographic print. Framed with a black or white box frame and floated to the backboard. The dimensions of 33.5 x 47.2 cm is that of the...
Archival Paper, Giclée
$800
H 22.5 in W 17 in D 1 in
Bake Sale: Ice Cream (20232), tufted wall art, textile, fiber, yarn, pink, soft
By SarahGrace
Located in Jersey City, NJ
Bake Sale: Ice Cream (2023), tufted art, textile, fiber, yarn, soft sculpture, pink, teal, wall or tabletop rug "Bake Sale: Ice Cream" by SarahGrace is a hand tufted wall...
Fabric, Yarn, Felt
CRADLE SONG
Located in Aventura, FL
Embellished serigraph on linen canvas. Hand signed, titled and numbered by the artist. From the edition of 85. Artwork size 55 x 42 inches. Custom framed as pictured. Frame siz...
Screen, Canvas, Linen
$8,251
H 30 in W 40 in
The Swan, With Leda (Limited Edition of 25) - 30x40 In Fine Art Print
Located in New York, NY
This 2009 photograph by legend photographer, John Stoddart depicts “The Swan with Leda.” It was inspired from the mythology of the Greek story of Leda and the Swan, when the God Zeus...
Silver Gelatin
$480
H 18.59 in W 13.19 in
Limited Edition Photographic Art Print "Filling the Manhole"
Located in Cape Town, ZA
A limited edition (out of 25) black and white photographic print. Framed with a black or white box frame and floated to the backboard. The dimensions of 33.5 x 47.2 cm is that of the...
Archival Paper, Giclée
$2,000Sale Price|20% Off
H 26 in W 25 in D 18 in
PRICK - Red, Monochrome Wall Hanging Sculpture w/ Found Objects
Located in Signal Mountain, TN
This piece was created using carefully curated materials that were then bound together. The materials used were all discarded and would otherwise have gone to a landfill. I repurpose...
Fabric, Yarn, Plastic, Rubber
Untitled
By Lorna Simpson
Located in New York, NY
A very good impression of this color electrostatic heat transfer on wool felt. Signed, dated and numbered 13/250 in ink by Simpson. Printed by Jeffrey Ryan, 21 Steps Editions, Albuqu...
Wool, Felt, Color
Wigs
By Lorna Simpson
Located in Toronto, Ontario
Lorna Simpson (b. 1960) is an American artist renowned as a pioneer of conceptual photography. Her artwork explores the interplay between historical memory, culture, and African-Amer...
Silver Gelatin
Van Der See Prop Vase
By Lorna Simpson
Located in Toronto, Ontario
Lorna Simpson (b. 1960) is an American artist renowned as a pioneer of conceptual photography. Her artwork explores the interplay between historical memory, culture, and African-Amer...
Screen
Partition and Time
By Lorna Simpson
Located in Toronto, Ontario
Lorna Simpson is an American artist renowned as a pioneer of conceptual photography. Her artwork, regardless of medium, explores the interplay between hi...
Silver Gelatin
Untitled
By Lorna Simpson
Located in New York, NY
Gelatin silver print (Edition of 25) Signed, dated, and numbered, verso 14 x 11 inches, sheet This artwork is offered by ClampArt, located in New York City. Much of Lorna Simpson’s work incorporates images of hair along with short, vague texts in order to comment on issues of race. This artwork illustrates the artist’s interest in representations of gender. Kobena Mercer writes: “Within racism’s bipolar codification of human values, black people’s hair has been historically devalued as the most visible sign of blackness, second only to skin.” [“Black Hair/Style Politics,” Out There: Marginalization and Contemporary Cultures (New York City: The New Museum of Contemporary Art, 1990), p. 249] By employing pubic hair...
Silver Gelatin
Partition and Time
By Lorna Simpson
Located in Toronto, Ontario
Lorna Simpson is an American artist renowned as a pioneer of conceptual photography. Her artwork, regardless of medium, explores the interplay between historical memory, culture, and...
Silver Gelatin
Sold
H 26.25 in W 33.5 in
Lorna Simpson-Backdrops Circa 1940-26.25" x 33.5"-Serigraph-1998-Photography
By Lorna Simpson
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Hand signed, dated in pencil on the reverse by Simpson. This piece is a diptych containing two serigraphs printed on felt panels. The figures in this di...
Screen
Untitled
By Lorna Simpson
Located in New York, NY
Gelatin silver print (Edition of 25) Signed, dated, and numbered, verso 14 x 11 inches, sheet This artwork is offered by ClampArt, located in New York City. Much of Lorna Simpson’s work incorporates images of hair along with short, vague texts in order to comment on issues of race. This artwork illustrates the artist’s interest in representations of gender. Kobena Mercer writes: “Within racism’s bipolar codification of human values, black people’s hair has been historically devalued as the most visible sign of blackness, second only to skin.” [“Black Hair/Style Politics,” Out There: Marginalization and Contemporary Cultures (New York City: The New Museum of Contemporary Art, 1990), p. 249] By employing pubic hair...
Silver Gelatin
Untitled, 1995 Electrostatic heat transfer on white felt
By Lorna Simpson
Located in Surfside, FL
Lorna Simpson was born in 1960 in Brooklyn, New York, and received her BFA in Photography from the School of Visual Arts, New York, and her MFA from the University of California, S...
Felt
Easy To Remember (15 Mouths)
By Lorna Simpson
Located in Los Angeles, CA
each 10 x 8 inches (image size 1 5/8 x 3 1/4 inches), edition of 40, signed and numbered Born in Brooklyn, New York, she attended the High School of Art and Design and the School of...