Simon Back“Layered Verses”

The exhibition is composed of a series paintings and works on paper depicting abstracted forms that have been overlaid with planes of white or colour.  This act of building and removal is characteristic of the artist’s practice, and denotes the order and disorder that accompanies the complex relationship between human and landscape. 

Matter Gallery is pleased to present, “Layered Verses” featuring Zimbabwean-born contemporary artist, Simon Back.  The exhibition is composed of a series paintings and works on paper depicting abstracted forms that have been overlaid with planes of white or colour.  This act of building and removal is characteristic of the artist’s practice, and denotes the order and disorder that accompanies the complex relationship between human and landscape.  Figures emerge from backgrounds or become obscured and ambiguous, while portrayals of land and water often appear deserted.  In this vulnerable state, the viewer is forced to examine what is left and discover the value of every remaining piece of space.  

While Simon Back’s influences from Western art movements have ranged from the Abstract Expressionists of the 1950’s to the work of Joseph Beuys, his primary influence has been the environment of his youth.  A visible recurring theme throughout his work is the organization and creation of space - an element born from the clean expansiveness of Africa. The artist portrays the seemingly calm distant plains that served to conceal a world of hostility brought on by the Zimbabwean civil war.  

After studying Fine Art in Cape Town, Simon Back returned to Zimbabwe to teach art whilst developing his own evolving visual.  He currently lives in Mauritius and exhibits globally.  Simon Back’s work is in the permanent collection of the National Gallery of Zimbabwe, as well as in private collections throughout the world.