Kim Simonsson

KIM SIMONSSON (Helsinki, 1974).
"Girl feeding a golden snail". 2023.
Glazed ceramic and 23 K gold.
Provenance: Alzueta Gallery.
Measurements: 85 x 80 x 35 cm.

Kim Simonsson's sculptures are endowed with a unique and inimitable character, combining ancient craft techniques with themes inspired by manga or cinema. Likewise, he combines the innocent with the disturbing or strange. All this can be seen in this curious figure of a girl feeding a snail with a large leaf. Her hooded blouse and shoes are also made of or lined with leaves, which gives the little girl the appearance of a goblin. Her features, however, are those of a girl with fine features and almond-shaped eyes. The piece has an unquestionable quality. It will also make some of us think of the "lost children" of Neverland, the brood of mischievous and free creatures faithful to the spirit of Peter Pan. The texture work of the foliage contrasts with the smoothness of the skin, as well as the delicate modeling of the arms and legs.

Kim Simonsson is a Finnish visual artist. As a child, Kim Simonsson already liked to sculpt. He did it with the snow in his backyard. He surprised his neighbors with his snowmen in the shape of Disney characters. He graduated from the Helsinki University of Art and Design in 2000. Simonsson creates figurative sculptures in ceramics. He was voted Young Artist of the Year in 2004. In 2009, he received the Pro Arte Award in recognition of his technical competence and original expression. Simonsson held his first solo exhibition at Kluuvi Gallery in Helsinki in 2003. He has participated in group exhibitions since 1997. Simonsson was the main artist in the "Retret cave" exhibition in the summer of 2009. In the fall of 2009, he held a Pro Art Prize exhibition at the Didrichsen Art Museum. Simonsson's work combines Japanese manga and Western visual art traditions. His decorative sculptures, based on antique porcelain sculptures, include animals, humans and aliens. The author writes: "In many of my works there is a kind of tension between innocence and finitude, which is embodied, among other things, in manga culture." Simonsson has donated his work White Rabbit to Finavia Art Gallery at Helsinki Airport on long-term loan.