Peter Simpson

Peter Simpson’s practice is firmly embedded in the art of storytelling. Using oil on canvas, Simpson renders subtly strange, enrapturing scenes which dip their toes into the surreal world of dreams, while holding onto some semblance of reality. Limbs of his figures might be slightly too elongated; a mirror reflection could be stretched or misshapen or bizarre embraces between skeletons and men holding colanders could be seen in Simpson’s realm. Narrative serves as an unpredictable guide through each body of work. Simpson will work on multiple paintings simultaneously, enabling characters to resurface across different canvases and for parts of the unfolding tale to be erased or altered. For example, an arm or leg might be repositioned by Simpson, with the original placement remaining hazily in view for audiences to encounter. References to the hallucinatory works of Hieronymous Bosch or Salvador Dalí could be seen in his paintings, and his textural deployment of cerulean blues, forest greens and rich purples adds a softer tone to the paintings— while the gentle outing in Simpson’s Me and Barney and our Sublime Army (2020), portrays Simpson’s otherworldly space is as less herculean, and more fantastical. ...