Charles Simonds, Sculptor
Monday, October 20
4:00 PM
List 120
Charles Simonds majored in art at the University of California at Berkeley and after graduation, taught college art in New Jersey. There he discovered an area of clay pits that had once provided the raw material for some of Manhattan's older buildings. He literally immersed himself in the subject, burying himself in a pool of wet clay to get a feel for the material. Back in New York, where he still lives, he experimented with clay and sand, learning to capture the look of the American Southwest or an African savanna. His sculptures are enchanting miniature architecture and landscapes. Most are landforms with small chambers and towers; some are abstract organic shapes, bulbous or phallic in form. For all their fragility and playfulness, Simonds's sculptures are as serious and eloquent as any work in metal or stone. The law of Charles Simonds's realm is elegant and simple. Earth gives rise to living beings who in turn build towns and temples, disturbing and hallowing the mud that gave them life. Individuals die and the artifacts of their culture decay and return to the earth.
