 The artist at work on a painting |
 A New Arcadia, 1997 |
 The Fortezza di Montalcino |
 Installation on the second floor |
 Canadian West Coast Hermetics, Paris, 1973 |
 French Art Critic, José Pierre |
 L'Univers Surréaliste by José Pierre Editions Somogy, Paris, 1983 |
 Harlequin acrylic on canvas, 1997 |
Gregg Simpson is an
internationally
recognized artist and musician who began his work during the west coast
renaissance of the 1960s.
This thoughtful documentary reveals how the rain forest in which he
grew
up
influenced his work and
how he felt a kinship with the imagery of west coast native artists. It
features the
new-surrealistic
dreamscape
paintings for which he was known in the 70s, followed by the cellular
organic
shapes of later work,
the Mediterranean-influenced cloisonnist series of the 1990s and more
recent
free form
abstractions. It also
explores the hybrid style that Simpson developed by mixing west coast
landscape
with the
Arcadian worlds of
Tuscany
and Provence. This innovation culminated in an exhibition of his work
in
the
14-century Fortezza di
Montalcino in Tuscany during May 2000. Writers, art historians and
gallery
directors
discuss Simpson’s place
in the Vancouver, Canadian and international art scenes and illuminate
the process by
which he transmutes the
influences of diverse cultures, landscapes and historical art movements.