Invest in the art of our time. Make a tax-deductible gift today. Image: Fazilat Soukhakian, Queer in Utah, Lexi & Max, 2019-2022, Archival inkjet print
Jan 25, 2019 – May 11, 2019
Mike Simi, Party Tray, 2011, Cast plastic, steel darts,16 x 16 x 8 in.
Are you more likely to consider something once you’ve laughed at it?
Mike Simi’s tongue in cheek work explores class and economy, aspiration and failure, and self-medication through objects and drawings steeped in self-effacing humor.
Simi’s work takes the world around us out of context, forcing a quiet spin on a predictable reaction. It creates a diffusion layer between one’s personal experience and the generic nature of branding, language, and imagery. In particular, this body of work attempts to question the poetics of interaction — presenting everyday experience in a way that contradicts common expectation. Simi strives to explore this relentless struggle: balancing the world of spirit with the average lives we live in contemporary society.
Supported by ZAP and George S. and Dolores Doré Eccles Foundation.
Installation photograph, Mike Simi: Gettin' By, Utah Museum of Contemporary Art, Jan 25—May 11, 2019, photo © UMOCA
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