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
$342
H 11.82 in W 5.91 in D 1.58 in
Pink Drip Wall Relief Sculpture From the Domino Series on Black Wood Panel
By Vera Vizzi
Located in FISTERRA, ES
Pink drip wall relief sculpture from the Domino Series combining glossy sculptural texture, playful pastel elements, and contemporary pop minimalism on black wood panel. This vertic...
Enamel
$274Sale Price|20% Off
H 11.82 in W 5.91 in D 1.58 in
Turquoise Mixed Media Wall Relief with Glossy Drip Form on Black Panel
By Vera Vizzi
Located in FISTERRA, ES
Turquoise mixed media wall relief with glossy sculptural drip form and pastel elements mounted on a black panel. This vertical mixed media wall sculpture belongs to the Domino Serie...
Enamel
$4,500
H 39 in W 27 in D 4 in
Contemporary Fiber Art, Needle Felted "Painting" with Hand Stitched Wrapped Edge
By Ethan Meyer
Located in St. Louis, MO
Contemporary Fiber Art, Needle Felted "Painting" with Hand Stitched Wrapped Edge Hangs on wall via french cleat Groot Foundation Honorable Mention Recipient 2025 "My work, both in...
Textile, Felt, Yarn, Foam, Wood
Star Grazers
By Rachel Denny
Located in Bozeman, MT
'We surround ourselves with elements from nature in the form of manicured lawns, sculpted trees, and our domesticated companions. We bend the natural world to our tastes and create a...
Metal
Blue, Grey and White
By Dianne Baker
Located in Buffalo, NY
An original conceptual sculpture by contemporary artist Dianne Baker, created in 2015 using wood, paint, metal, rubber and plexi.
Metal
$274Sale Price|20% Off
H 11.82 in W 5.91 in D 1.58 in
Modular Domino Wall Sculpture in Pale Aqua Foam Clay with Stripe Motif
By Vera Vizzi
Located in FISTERRA, ES
Modular domino wall sculpture in pale aqua foam clay with painted vertical stripes and subtle relief detailing, a compact mixed media work conceived for panel installations. This mix...
Enamel
$342
H 11.82 in W 5.91 in D 1.58 in
Modular Fried Egg Domino Wall Sculpture on Black Relief Panel
By Vera Vizzi
Located in FISTERRA, ES
Modular fried egg wall sculpture combining graphic minimalism, black relief surfaces and playful domestic iconography in a collectible domino-inspired composition. This mixed-media ...
Enamel
$300
H 28 in W 16 in
Green Free Range Critter, soft sculpture, by Kerry Green, Oppenheimer, felt, fun
By Kerry Green
Located in Santa Fe, NM
Since childhood, Kerry Green has always been creative; painting, drawing, sculpting, and sewing. Her family provided her with materials and encouraged her efforts. She literally grew...
Felt, Plastic
Little Lion
By Rachel Denny
Located in Bozeman, MT
'We surround ourselves with elements from nature in the form of manicured lawns, sculpted trees, and our domesticated companions. We bend the natural world to our tastes and create a...
Metal
$274Sale Price|20% Off
H 11.82 in W 5.91 in D 1.58 in
Modular Domino Wall Sculpture in Ultramarine Foam Clay on Black Painted Panel
By Vera Vizzi
Located in FISTERRA, ES
Political play and the fragility of systems converge in this modular domino wall sculpture. Dripping ultramarine foam clay over a black painted wood panel, modular domino wall sculpt...
Enamel
$274Sale Price|20% Off
H 11.82 in W 5.91 in D 1.58 in
Modular Domino Wall Sculpture in Cyan Foam Clay and Enamel on Black Wood Panel
By Vera Vizzi
Located in FISTERRA, ES
Modular mixed-media domino relief in bright cyan foam clay on a black-painted wood panel, featuring white hemispherical domes, a painted linear divider and a dripping, sculpted casca...
Enamel
Aries
By Rachel Denny
Located in Bozeman, MT
'We surround ourselves with elements from nature in the form of manicured lawns, sculpted trees, and our domesticated companions. We bend the natural world to our tastes and create a...
Metal