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Opening Reception: Angled Eclipse by John Simms
Event info
Jackson Hole Public Art and The Center present
Opening Reception: Angled Ellipse by John Simms
Friday, September 9 from 6-7PM
Northeast Corner of The Center
Free & Open to the Public
A new sculpture by local artist, John Simms, was recently installed outside the music wing entrance to Center for the Arts on Cache Street. The installation was a collaborative effort by The Center and Jackson Hole Public Art, who worked together with the artist and his local gallery representative, Diehl Gallery. The metal sculpture, Angled Ellipse, is a kinetic sculpture that revolves as the wind blows.
Simms was recently named the featured sculptor of the 2019 Jackson Hole Fall Arts Festival, which is celebrating its 35th anniversary next month. The Center and JH Public Art will host a reception for his newly installed work as part of the Palates & Palettes Gallery Walk on Friday, September 6. Stop by to meet the artist and enjoy a champagne toast from 6pm-7pm.
Simms creates metal sculptures that play on his background in geometry. “My work took a definite leap into the mathematical and geometric,” remarked Simms. “I am fascinated by the possibilities inherent in the most basic forms”the circle, triangle, and rectangle. My sculptures transcend these Euclidean shapes by bending, warping, and fastening them into unexpected shapes and surprising relationships.”
“Jackson Hole Public Art is proud to support the effort to bring local community hero and pioneer of contemporary sculpture, John Simms’ work The Center’s sculpture pad,” said Carrie Geraci, Director of Jackson Hole Public Art.
Simms moved to Jackson Hole in the early “60s before the ski area was developed. In those days people who ventured into the backcountry didn’t have the resources to help one another if someone was caught in a slide. Simms started creating tools for avalanche forecasting, devices that he sold all over the world. He went on to develop fly-fishing gear and started the well-known company, Simms Fishing Products.
In 2013, JH Public Art poured the sculpture pad to host rotating sculptures at The Center. To date, the outdoor exhibition space has hosted sculptures by Bronwyn Minton, Ben Roth, and Craig Gray.