About the artist
Kirsten Rae Simonsen received her MFA from the University of Chicago after studying traditional painting and drawing in Bali, Indonesia. She has shown her work nationally and internationally and is known for drawing on the wall installations. Most recently, she created a site-specific installation for the Zendai Museum of Modern Art in Shanghai, China, and received the Newcomer Award at the 30th Annual Honolulu Japanese Chamber of Commerce Commitment to Excellence Art Exhibit. She recently created a site-specific drawing installation at 39 Hotel in Honolulu of “spoiled party girls.”
Simonsen’s work is concerned with transgression and debasement, nostalgia and hope, the sadness of the suburbs, the disappointing party, the hopes and failures of Modernism, and the fear of (and desire for) the unknown. Subject matter includes exploding cars and unsuccessful birthday parties. Much of her work incorporates drawn text, which at first often reads as mundane, bland, even saccharine pleasantries. However, a sense of longing and sadness pervades these writings. Her recent work portrays lone Modernist couches and chairs.
She lives in Honolulu.
Contact the artist at simonsen.kirsten@gmail.com
Download artist CV
Comments are off for this post