Painting almost daily for over six decades, Michael Simpson is renowned for his large-scale paintings that repeatedly work through a limited number of motifs. Influenced by fifteenth century Venetian and early Flemish painting, Simpson’s visual vocabulary returns again and again to a belief in “the infamy of religious history”, in his words. These motifs that potently address faith, existentialism and authority - benches, steps and ladders, pulpits, Islamic minbars, and confessional boxes - are the foundational forms of his precise pared down compositions. These structures are rendered with a forensic level of detail, but in such a way that they also become pure forms: benches levitate on an empty plane; ladders lead to nowhere. Simpson’s paintings are characterised by his potent economy and austerity, as well as a marked depth in spatial perspective; their subjects painted on a flat painted surface. But despite their austerity and simplicity, each of Simpson’s paintings contains an elaborate consideration of a specific history. In his Leper Squint series, for example, what might first appear to be a recurring reference to the black square of Kazimir Malevich, is in fact a poignant depiction of a hagioscope, or a ‘squint’; a small hole positioned in the exterior walls of medieval churches for the purpose of allowing lepers to see and hear the sacraments without contaminating the congregation. In another example, Simpson’s ongoing bench paintings, which he started painting in 1989, are an homage to the Italian Renaissance philosopher Giordano Bruno, who was burnt alive in 1600 for heresy.
Michael Simpson was born in Dorset in 1940 and lives and works in Wiltshire. Simpson has presented solo exhibitions at Holburne Museum, Bath (2023); giant, Bournemouth (2022); Minsheng Museum of Art, Shanghai (2018); Spike Island, Bristol (2016); David Roberts Arts Foundation, London (2014); Arnolfini Gallery, Bristol (1996 and 1983); and Serpentine Gallery, London (1985). He has participated in group exhibitions at Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Humlebaek (2021); Hayward Gallery, London (2019); Museum Moderner, Künst, Stiftung, Ludwig, Wein, Vienna (2018); Limerick City Gallery of Art (2017); Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool; Contemporary Art Centre, Vilnius, Lithuania (both 2016); Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge (1999); and Serpentine Gallery, London (1987). In 2016, he was awarded the John Moores Painting Prize, having first been nominated for the prize in 1991. His works feature in prominent institutional collections including British Council, London; Roberts Institute of Art, London; Long Museum, Shanghai; Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Humlebaek; Tate, London; and Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool.
Born in Dorset, 1940
Lives and works in Wiltshire
1960-1963 Royal College of Art, London
1958-1960 Bournemouth College of Art, Bournemouth
2025
Drawing towards Painting: Selected Works 1974–2024, American Art Catalogues, New York, NY, USA
Drawing towards Painting: Selected Works 1974–2024, Modern Art, London
2024
New Paintings, Modern Art, London
2023
Drawing Towards Painting, Holburne Museum, Bath
Paintings, Arario Gallery, Shanghai, China
2022
Paintings, GIANT, Bournemouth
Squint Paintings, Arco, Madrid, Spain
2021
Nosbaum Reding, Luxembourg
2019
New Paintings, Blain Southern, London
2018
Selected Works of Michael Simpson, Minsheng Museum of Art, Shanghai, China
2017
Squint, Blain Southern, Berlin, Germany
2016
Flat Surface Painting, David Risley Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark
Flat Surface Painting, Spike Island, Bristol
2014
Study #6, David Roberts Arts Foundation, London
2013
The Leper Squint Paintings, David Risley Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark
2007
Bench Paintings, Recent Work 2005 – 2006, David Risley Gallery, London
2005
Hymn . Psalm . Song . Prayer - Bench Paintings, The Tithe Barn and The Old Gasworks, Bradford on Avon
1996
Bench Paintings 1992-1995, Arnolfini Gallery, Bristol, travelling to: Oriel 31, Newtown
1985
Recent Paintings, Serpentine Gallery, London
1983
Paintings 1980-1983, Arnolfini Gallery, Bristol
1973
Six large paintings, Bristol Museum & Art Gallery, Bristol
1972
Paintings and Drawings, Piccadilly Gallery, London
1968
Paintings, University of Sussex, Sussex
Michael Simpson, Piccadilly Gallery, London
1964
Paintings and Drawings, Piccadilly Gallery, London
2024
The Principal Cause of Serial Monogamy, Tara Downs, New York, NY, USA
Spotlight On 3: Modern and Contemporary Art from the Collection, Chippenham Museum, Chippenham
2023
Modern Art, Paris, France
2021
Acquisitions 2016-2021, Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Humlebaek, Denmark
Of Clocks and Clouds, Palfrey Gallery, London
2020
Words, Simon Lee Gallery, London
2019
Slow Painting, curated by Martin Herbert, organised by Hayward Gallery Touring, Livinsky Gallery, Plymouth, travelling to: The Edge, Bath; Inverness Museum and Gallery, Inverness; and Leeds Art Gallery, Leeds
2018
Class Reunion, works from the Gaby & Wilhelm Schürmann Collection, Museum Moderner, Künst, Stiftung, Ludwig, Wein, Vienna, Austria
Doodle & Disegno, Blain Southern, Berlin, Germany
2016
Shall we Sit, Stand or Kneel?, with Hannah Levy, curated by Wills Baker, Marlborough Contemporary, New York, NY, USA
Revolt of the Sage, Blain Southern, London
John Moores Painting Prize, Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool
Tightrope Walk: Painted Images After Abstraction, curated by Barry Schwabsky, White Cube, London
The Painting Show, organised by the British Council, Contemporary Art Centre, Vilnius, Lithuania, travelling to: Limerick City Gallery of Art, Limerick, Ireland and Aram Art Gallery, Goyang Cultural Foundation, Korea
On the Immense and the Numberless, David Risley Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark
2015
Absence. Looking for Hammershoi, David Risley Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark
2013
The Debris of the Fuck drawings 1970 – 74, Serge Stauffer: Kunst Als Forschung, Helmhaus, Zurich
2009
The Paper Show, David Risley Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark
2007
Citadel 1: Front Room/Killing Room, David Risley Gallery, London
2005
Accidental Death, David Risley Gallery, London
Crivelli’s Nail, Chapter Gallery, Cardiff
2001
Jerwood Open Drawing Exhibition, EICH Gallery, Kingston upon Hull, travelling to: Kunsthalle Sierre, Sierre, Switzerland
1999
On the Threshold, Octagon Gallery, Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge
1998
East International, Norwich
1993
John Moores 18, Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool
1991
John Moores 17, Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool
1989
John Moores 16, Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool
1987
On a Plate, Serpentine Gallery, London
1982
British Drawing, Hayward Gallery, London
1977
Tolly Cobbald Open, Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, travelling to: Sheffield; Ipswich; London
1975
Chichester National Open, Chichester
1971
John Player Open, Nottingham
1968
Fine Art for Industry, Royal College of Art, London
1968 Open Painting Exhibition, The Arts Council Gallery, Belfast
Ten English Art Galleries, Florence, Italy
1964
New Painting 1961-64, Arts Council Touring Exhibition
Three Young Painters from The Royal College of Art, University of Southampton, Southampton
1963
Contemporary Image, Upper Grosvenor Gallery, London
Young Contemporaries 1963, F.B.A. Galleries, London, travelling to: Arts Council Gallery, Cambridge; Ferens Art Gallery, Kingston upon Hull; Midland Group Gallery, Nottingham; Towner Art Gallery, Eastbourne; Bradford City Art Gallery, Bradford
The London Group 1963, Art Federation Galleries, London
1962
Painting from English Art Schools, Paris, France
1961
New Painting 1958-61, Arts Council Touring Exhibition
1960
University of London Exhibition, London
1959
Young Contemporaries 1959, The Arts Council Gallery, Cambridge, travelling to: Blackburn Art Gallery, Blackburn, Powysland Museum, Welshpool; Maidstone Museum and Art Gallery, Maidstone
Recent Acquisitions, Arts Council Touring Exhibition
Arts Council England, London
Bristol Museum and Art Gallery, Bristol
British Council, London
Det Nye Universitets Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark
Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Humlebaek, Denmark
Royal College of Art, London
Tate, London
Tullie House Museum & Art Gallery, Carlisle
Ulster Museum and Art Gallery, Belfast
Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool
2016
First Prize, John Moores Prize
1999
London Arts Foundation Fellowship in Painting
1991
Prize Winner, John Moores 17
Painting almost daily for over six decades, Michael Simpson is renowned for his large-scale paintings that repeatedly work through a limited number of motifs. Influenced by fifteenth century Venetian and early Flemish painting, Simpson’s visual vocabulary returns again and again to a belief in “the infamy of religious history”, in his words. These motifs that potently address faith, existentialism and authority - benches, steps and ladders, pulpits, Islamic minbars, and confessional boxes - are the foundational forms of his precise pared down compositions. These structures are rendered with a forensic level of detail, but in such a way that they also become pure forms: benches levitate on an empty plane; ladders lead to nowhere. Simpson’s paintings are characterised by his potent economy and austerity, as well as a marked depth in spatial perspective; their subjects painted on a flat painted surface. But despite their austerity and simplicity, each of Simpson’s paintings contains an elaborate consideration of a specific history. In his Leper Squint series, for example, what might first appear to be a recurring reference to the black square of Kazimir Malevich, is in fact a poignant depiction of a hagioscope, or a ‘squint’; a small hole positioned in the exterior walls of medieval churches for the purpose of allowing lepers to see and hear the sacraments without contaminating the congregation. In another example, Simpson’s ongoing bench paintings, which he started painting in 1989, are an homage to the Italian Renaissance philosopher Giordano Bruno, who was burnt alive in 1600 for heresy.
Michael Simpson was born in Dorset in 1940 and lives and works in Wiltshire. Simpson has presented solo exhibitions at Holburne Museum, Bath (2023); giant, Bournemouth (2022); Minsheng Museum of Art, Shanghai (2018); Spike Island, Bristol (2016); David Roberts Arts Foundation, London (2014); Arnolfini Gallery, Bristol (1996 and 1983); and Serpentine Gallery, London (1985). He has participated in group exhibitions at Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Humlebaek (2021); Hayward Gallery, London (2019); Museum Moderner, Künst, Stiftung, Ludwig, Wein, Vienna (2018); Limerick City Gallery of Art (2017); Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool; Contemporary Art Centre, Vilnius, Lithuania (both 2016); Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge (1999); and Serpentine Gallery, London (1987). In 2016, he was awarded the John Moores Painting Prize, having first been nominated for the prize in 1991. His works feature in prominent institutional collections including British Council, London; Roberts Institute of Art, London; Long Museum, Shanghai; Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Humlebaek; Tate, London; and Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool.
Born in Dorset, 1940
Lives and works in Wiltshire
1960-1963 Royal College of Art, London
1958-1960 Bournemouth College of Art, Bournemouth
2025
Drawing towards Painting: Selected Works 1974–2024, American Art Catalogues, New York, NY, USA
Drawing towards Painting: Selected Works 1974–2024, Modern Art, London
2024
New Paintings, Modern Art, London
2023
Drawing Towards Painting, Holburne Museum, Bath
Paintings, Arario Gallery, Shanghai, China
2022
Paintings, GIANT, Bournemouth
Squint Paintings, Arco, Madrid, Spain
2021
Nosbaum Reding, Luxembourg
2019
New Paintings, Blain Southern, London
2018
Selected Works of Michael Simpson, Minsheng Museum of Art, Shanghai, China
2017
Squint, Blain Southern, Berlin, Germany
2016
Flat Surface Painting, David Risley Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark
Flat Surface Painting, Spike Island, Bristol
2014
Study #6, David Roberts Arts Foundation, London
2013
The Leper Squint Paintings, David Risley Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark
2007
Bench Paintings, Recent Work 2005 – 2006, David Risley Gallery, London
2005
Hymn . Psalm . Song . Prayer - Bench Paintings, The Tithe Barn and The Old Gasworks, Bradford on Avon
1996
Bench Paintings 1992-1995, Arnolfini Gallery, Bristol, travelling to: Oriel 31, Newtown
1985
Recent Paintings, Serpentine Gallery, London
1983
Paintings 1980-1983, Arnolfini Gallery, Bristol
1973
Six large paintings, Bristol Museum & Art Gallery, Bristol
1972
Paintings and Drawings, Piccadilly Gallery, London
1968
Paintings, University of Sussex, Sussex
Michael Simpson, Piccadilly Gallery, London
1964
Paintings and Drawings, Piccadilly Gallery, London
2024
The Principal Cause of Serial Monogamy, Tara Downs, New York, NY, USA
Spotlight On 3: Modern and Contemporary Art from the Collection, Chippenham Museum, Chippenham
2023
Modern Art, Paris, France
2021
Acquisitions 2016-2021, Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Humlebaek, Denmark
Of Clocks and Clouds, Palfrey Gallery, London
2020
Words, Simon Lee Gallery, London
2019
Slow Painting, curated by Martin Herbert, organised by Hayward Gallery Touring, Livinsky Gallery, Plymouth, travelling to: The Edge, Bath; Inverness Museum and Gallery, Inverness; and Leeds Art Gallery, Leeds
2018
Class Reunion, works from the Gaby & Wilhelm Schürmann Collection, Museum Moderner, Künst, Stiftung, Ludwig, Wein, Vienna, Austria
Doodle & Disegno, Blain Southern, Berlin, Germany
2016
Shall we Sit, Stand or Kneel?, with Hannah Levy, curated by Wills Baker, Marlborough Contemporary, New York, NY, USA
Revolt of the Sage, Blain Southern, London
John Moores Painting Prize, Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool
Tightrope Walk: Painted Images After Abstraction, curated by Barry Schwabsky, White Cube, London
The Painting Show, organised by the British Council, Contemporary Art Centre, Vilnius, Lithuania, travelling to: Limerick City Gallery of Art, Limerick, Ireland and Aram Art Gallery, Goyang Cultural Foundation, Korea
On the Immense and the Numberless, David Risley Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark
2015
Absence. Looking for Hammershoi, David Risley Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark
2013
The Debris of the Fuck drawings 1970 – 74, Serge Stauffer: Kunst Als Forschung, Helmhaus, Zurich
2009
The Paper Show, David Risley Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark
2007
Citadel 1: Front Room/Killing Room, David Risley Gallery, London
2005
Accidental Death, David Risley Gallery, London
Crivelli’s Nail, Chapter Gallery, Cardiff
2001
Jerwood Open Drawing Exhibition, EICH Gallery, Kingston upon Hull, travelling to: Kunsthalle Sierre, Sierre, Switzerland
1999
On the Threshold, Octagon Gallery, Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge
1998
East International, Norwich
1993
John Moores 18, Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool
1991
John Moores 17, Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool
1989
John Moores 16, Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool
1987
On a Plate, Serpentine Gallery, London
1982
British Drawing, Hayward Gallery, London
1977
Tolly Cobbald Open, Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, travelling to: Sheffield; Ipswich; London
1975
Chichester National Open, Chichester
1971
John Player Open, Nottingham
1968
Fine Art for Industry, Royal College of Art, London
1968 Open Painting Exhibition, The Arts Council Gallery, Belfast
Ten English Art Galleries, Florence, Italy
1964
New Painting 1961-64, Arts Council Touring Exhibition
Three Young Painters from The Royal College of Art, University of Southampton, Southampton
1963
Contemporary Image, Upper Grosvenor Gallery, London
Young Contemporaries 1963, F.B.A. Galleries, London, travelling to: Arts Council Gallery, Cambridge; Ferens Art Gallery, Kingston upon Hull; Midland Group Gallery, Nottingham; Towner Art Gallery, Eastbourne; Bradford City Art Gallery, Bradford
The London Group 1963, Art Federation Galleries, London
1962
Painting from English Art Schools, Paris, France
1961
New Painting 1958-61, Arts Council Touring Exhibition
1960
University of London Exhibition, London
1959
Young Contemporaries 1959, The Arts Council Gallery, Cambridge, travelling to: Blackburn Art Gallery, Blackburn, Powysland Museum, Welshpool; Maidstone Museum and Art Gallery, Maidstone
Recent Acquisitions, Arts Council Touring Exhibition
Arts Council England, London
Bristol Museum and Art Gallery, Bristol
British Council, London
Det Nye Universitets Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark
Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Humlebaek, Denmark
Royal College of Art, London
Tate, London
Tullie House Museum & Art Gallery, Carlisle
Ulster Museum and Art Gallery, Belfast
Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool
2016
First Prize, John Moores Prize
1999
London Arts Foundation Fellowship in Painting
1991
Prize Winner, John Moores 17