Jessica Simorte
Jessica Simorte completed her MFA with an emphasis in painting at the University of Cincinnati’s College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning in 2014. She is currently living in Texas where she teaches within Sam Houston State University’s WASH program. She has shown regionally, nationally and internationally and has been included in numerous publications including Looking At Painting and Maake Magazine. In the last year, she has held a solo exhibition in Houston, been in many national exhibitions, had works purchased for an international public collection, and co-curated exhibitions. Simorte’s practice serves as an ongoing examination of how art making can function as a mode of placemaking. Having experienced hypersensitive connections to her inhabited surroundings her entire life, the work ultimately focuses on drawing and painting as a means of navigating physical and intangible places.
Artist Statement
This work is an ongoing examination of how art making can serve as a mode of place making. My interests are primarily based in topophilia, and this bond between people and places powers my studio practice. Through painting I am able to create environments that interest me in a manner that is suggestive but not specific—they are parts of inside spaces, but beyond that they are ambiguous. These places I am painting are satisfying in ways my daily environment are not.
Abstraction is the framework in which I investigate ideas of place dependence in contemporary human experience. I intend for the work to have a transparency regarding its prioritization of formal investigation and process. I strive for the outcome to be indicative of an environment that is intangible and peculiar. The works maintain a belief in abstraction’s ability to function both on a self-referential level and exist as cultural objects that are discursively relevant, socially engaged, and mindful of a viewer’s emotional and intellectual experiences.
Making work with a strong sense of urgency and intuition allows for a sort of call-and-response for unexpected outcomes, resulting in paintings and drawings that feels both highly considered, and largely instinctual. These works are produced with an introverted inclination and modest scale; I have adopted a sincere approach to contemporary abstract painting. By looking at interiors through the filter of materials and physicality, the work ultimately focuses on drawing and painting as a means of navigating physical and intangible places.
Artist C.V.
Education
2014 MFA, University of Cincinnati (DAAP), Cincinnati, OH
2010 BA summa cum laude, Studio Art, University of Saint Mary, Leavenworth, KS
Selected Solo Exhibitions
2017 Pine, Blue Orange Gallery, Houston, TX
2015 Crimson Spackle Lines, Bust Gallery, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA
2015 Corner Core, Kansas City Artist Coalition, Kansas City, MO
2015 Thank You For Coming, Galleri Urbane M+D, Dallas, TX
2014 Acid Free, Pipeline Gallery, Cincinnati, OH
2013 Already Paintings, The Minute Gallery, Cincinnati, OH
2012 Resting, Pipeline Gallery, Cincinnati, OH
2011 Someplace Real, Plenum Space Gallery, Kansas City, MO
2010 Senior Exhibition, Goppert Gallery, University of Saint Mary, Leavenworth, KS
2009 A Certain Joy, Stacks Gallery, Carnegie Arts Center, Leavenworth, KS
2008 Twelve Paintings From a Photograph, Goppert Gallery, University of Saint Mary, Leavenworth, KS
Selected Two-Person and Group Exhibitions
2017 Intimates, Skylab Gallery, Columbus, OH (forthcoming)
2017 Art Athina, Athens, Greece
2017 Yes, And, Left Field, San Luis Obispo, CA
2017 ATTATCH FILES, 50/50, Kansas City, MO
2017 At Home, Zeitgeist Gallery, Nashville, TN
2017 Girls Favorite, Fluorescent Gallery, Knoxville, TN
2016 The Kennington Residency Presents Paintings and Objects, The Kennington Residency, London, England
2016 We Lost Our Tails, Proto Gallery, Hoboken, NJ
2016 Funkytown, Urbano, Berkeley, CA
2016 Wavy Dash, Terrault Contemporary, Baltimore, MD
2015 More or Less, Front/Space, Kansas City, MO
2015 The Affordable Art Fair, New York, NY
2015 New Faculty, Gaddis Geeslin Gallery, Huntsville, TX
2015 Group Show, Sunday, Los Angeles, CA
2015 Inaugural Group Show, Left Field, San Luis Obispo, CA
2015 Chill, Zen, Funk and Twang, Curating Contemporary, Online Exhibition
2015 This is what is Not, Mist Gallery, mistgallery.com, Online Exhibition
2014 Sugar Rush, En Em Art Space, Sacramento, CA
2014 New Abstraction: 3 Select, Metropolis Collective, Mechanicsburg, PA
2014 Extraordinary Flecks and Things Butting Up, LOHIOH, Cincinnati, OH
2014 By The Pleasure of Doing, Espacio 20/20, San Juan, Puerto Rico
2014 NO WERK, Trocadero Art Space, Melbourne, Australia
2014 Tangent, Fraction Print Studio, Kansas City, MO
2014 divisible: please, actually, introspective, Divisible Project Space, Dayton, OH
2014 Business Casual–collaborative exhibition with Max Manning, Neon Heater Gallery, Findlay, OH
2014 Group Show, Galleri Urbane M+D, Dallas, TX
2014 YWAs Exhibition, Wonder Fair Gallery, Lawrence, KS
2014 LUSH, Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati, OH
2014 Fiction, University of Dayton Galleries, Dayton, OH & Neon Heater Gallery, Findlay, OH
2014 Finalists Exhibition, 2014 Miami University Young Painters Competition for the William and Dorothy Yeck Award, Oxford, OH
2013 Pop-Up, Niehoff Design Center, Cincinnati, OH
2013 Members’ Small Works Exhibition, ROY G BIV Gallery, Columbus, OH
2013 Fresh Paint Showcase, Media Wall at Commerce Square, Philadelphia, PA
2013 Crosspollination–collaborative exhibition with Max Manning, 840 Gallery, Cincinnati, OH
2013 SWEETYSALTY SCULPTUREFUNK–collaborative exhibition with Max Manning, Pipeline Gallery, Cincinnati, OH
2013 Basic Needs, semantics Gallery, Cincinnati, OH
2013 All Fall Down, Meyers Gallery, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH
2013 Modern Makers & Fernside Benefit Art Auction, Niehoff Urban Studio, Cincinnati, OH
2013 It’s Not The Heat, It’s The Humidity, St. Louis Artists’ Guild, St. Louis, MO
2013 Working It Out, The Painting Center, New York, NY
2013 6x6x2013, Rochester Contemporary Art Center, Rochester, NY
2013 USB Shuffle Show, Institut Fur Alles Mogliche, Abteilung Fur Alles Andere, Berlin-Mitte
2012 Yes We Art Open, Scioto Studios, Cincinnati, OH
2012 POST (BLANK) IT, 840 Gallery, Cincinnati, OH
2012 Textual Healing, Pipeline Gallery, Cincinnati, OH
2011 ONPROCESSES, Goppert Gallery – University of Saint Mary, Leavenworth, KS
2011 Chain Letter, Shoshana Wayne Gallery, Santa Monica, CA
2010 Undergraduate College Student Exhibition, Kansas City Artist Coalition, Kansas City, MO
2010 Miller Award Exhibition, De Paul Library –University of Saint Mary, Leavenworth, KS
2009 Undergraduate College Student Exhibition, Kansas City Artist Coalition, Kansas City, MO
Honors & Awards
2016 Nominee for the inaugural FATE Shout Out Award, a national award for
non-tenure track faculty demonstrating excellence in teaching.
2014 Finalist for Miami University’s Young Painters Competition for the William
and Dorothy Yeck Award, Oxford, OH Graduate Scholarship, University of Cincinnati
2013 Paula Henderson Beck Prize, St. Louis Artists’ Guild Jean Tatgenhorst Conrad Travel Fellowship Fund, University of Cincinnati
Graduate Scholarship, University of Cincinnati Sophomore Review panelist, University of Cincinnati Graduate Scholarship, University of Cincinnati
2010 Lore & Mel Mallin Scholarship Award, Kansas City Artist Coalition Summa Cum Laude Honors, University of Saint Mary Departmental Honors, University of Saint Mary Delta Epsilon Sigma National Honor Society, University of Saint Mary Kappa Gamma Pi National Honor Society, University of Saint Mary
2007-2010 Miller Art Award, University of Saint Mary
Professional Activities
2017 Panel Presenter, Start Strong: Reasons and Approaches for Creative Ideation, FATE Biennial Conference, Beyond The Core, Kansas City, MO
2015 Artist Talk, Sam Houston State University, Huntsville, TX Visiting Artist Lecture, University of Saint Mary, Leavenworth, KS Juror, Undergraduate Spring Exhibition, University of Saint Mary, Leavenworth, KS
Moderator for artist talk & panel discussion, Front/Space, Kansas City, MO
2012 Juror, Undergraduate Spring Exhibition, University of Saint Mary, Leavenworth, KS
2011 Assistant Gallery Manager, Byron C. Cohen Gallery for Contemporary Art, Kansas City, MO
2010 Internship, Byron C. Cohen Gallery for Contemporary Art, Kansas City, MO
Bibliography
2017 Feature: “Inside The Studio: Jessica Simorte”, https://www.upriseart.com/journal/inside-the-studio/visit-with-jessica-simorte
Feature: “Humpday Haiku”, https://commandzine.com/2017/01/25/humpday-haiku-jessica-simorte/
2016 Feature: “Under the Radar”, http://www.artslant.com/ny/articles/show/46569
Feature: “Bringing Art To Millenials with Tze Chun of Uprise Art”,
http://artzealous.com/bringing-art-to-millenials-with-tze-chun-of-
uprise-art/
Publication Review: Headless Greg, “Review of
Looking At Painting, Vol. II”, http://www.headlessgreg.com/blog/looking-at-
painting-2
Interview: “Now Featuring Jessica Simorte”, http://blog.littlepaperplanes.com/now-featuring-jessica-simorte/
2015 Feature: “5 Young Female Artists Who Should Definitely Be On Your Radar”,
http://www.bustle.com/articles/125091-5-young-female-artists-who-should-definitely-be-on-your-radar
Looking At Painting, Vol. 2, Winter, 2015
Maake Magazine, Issue no. 2, Winter, 2015
Interview: “Jessica Simorte”, http://www.maakema
gazine.com/jessica-simorte
Article: “Affordable Art Fair: Something For Everyone”,
The Forum, September, 2015
http://theforumnewsgroup.com/2015/09/16/affordable-art-fair-something
-for-everyone/
Podcast: Studio Break Podcast, http://studiobreak.com/jessica-simorte/
Interview: “Meet Jessica Simorte”, http://blog.upriseart.com/jessica-
simorte/Kool Kids Klub Fanzine, Issue no. 5, Spring ’15
Feature: Jessica Simorte, http://blog.littlepaperplanes.com/jessica-
simorte/
Interview: “Q + A with Jessica Simorte”,
http://www.galleriurbane.com/uploads/5/8/7/0/5870415/simorte_q_and_a.pdf
Interview: “Mist Gallery Artist Interviews”, http://www.mistgallery.com/blog/?category=Artist+Interviews
2014 Nue Magazine, Issue no. 1, Summer ‘14
Review: New Exhibit Asks What’s With The Gender Imbalance in Art, July, 2014 http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2014/jul/06/new-exhibit-asks-whats-gender-imbalance-art/?print
Interview: “Artists Questioned”, http://sbmacinnis.wordpress.com/2014/05/04/artists-questioned-as-a-
young-artist-how-do-you-plan-to-establish-and-sustain-an-art-practice/
Feature: “Artist Crush: Jessica Simorte”, http://arthound.com/2014/08/artist-crush-jessica-simorte/
2013 Interview: “Artists Spotlight: Jessica Simorte”, Fresh
Paint Magazine, Issue no. 1
http://www.freshpaintmagazine.com/1/post/2013/10/jessica-simorte.html
Fresh Paint Magazine,
Issue no. 1, Fall ’13 The Hand Magazine, Issue no. 1, Summer ‘13
2011 Review: “The Fine, Strong Ties That Bind”,
Review: Mid-America’s Visual Arts Publication.
http://ereview.org/2011/07/02/the-fine-strong-ties-that-bind-jessica-
simorte/
2009 Review: “New Exhibit, Jessica Simorte”, Leavenworth Times, July 2009
Gallery Affiliations
Uprise Art, New York, NY
Public Collections
Young Art, Stockholm, Sweden
Jessica Simorte completed her MFA with an emphasis in painting at the University of Cincinnati’s College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning in 2014. She is currently living in Texas where she teaches within Sam Houston State University’s WASH program. She has shown regionally, nationally and internationally and has been included in numerous publications including Looking At Painting and Maake Magazine. In the last year, she has held a solo exhibition in Houston, been in many national exhibitions, had works purchased for an international public collection, and co-curated exhibitions. Simorte’s practice serves as an ongoing examination of how art making can function as a mode of placemaking. Having experienced hypersensitive connections to her inhabited surroundings her entire life, the work ultimately focuses on drawing and painting as a means of navigating physical and intangible places.
Artist Statement
This work is an ongoing examination of how art making can serve as a mode of place making. My interests are primarily based in topophilia, and this bond between people and places powers my studio practice. Through painting I am able to create environments that interest me in a manner that is suggestive but not specific—they are parts of inside spaces, but beyond that they are ambiguous. These places I am painting are satisfying in ways my daily environment are not.
Abstraction is the framework in which I investigate ideas of place dependence in contemporary human experience. I intend for the work to have a transparency regarding its prioritization of formal investigation and process. I strive for the outcome to be indicative of an environment that is intangible and peculiar. The works maintain a belief in abstraction’s ability to function both on a self-referential level and exist as cultural objects that are discursively relevant, socially engaged, and mindful of a viewer’s emotional and intellectual experiences.
Making work with a strong sense of urgency and intuition allows for a sort of call-and-response for unexpected outcomes, resulting in paintings and drawings that feels both highly considered, and largely instinctual. These works are produced with an introverted inclination and modest scale; I have adopted a sincere approach to contemporary abstract painting. By looking at interiors through the filter of materials and physicality, the work ultimately focuses on drawing and painting as a means of navigating physical and intangible places.
Artist C.V.
Education
2014 MFA, University of Cincinnati (DAAP), Cincinnati, OH
2010 BA summa cum laude, Studio Art, University of Saint Mary, Leavenworth, KS
Selected Solo Exhibitions
2017 Pine, Blue Orange Gallery, Houston, TX
2015 Crimson Spackle Lines, Bust Gallery, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA
2015 Corner Core, Kansas City Artist Coalition, Kansas City, MO
2015 Thank You For Coming, Galleri Urbane M+D, Dallas, TX
2014 Acid Free, Pipeline Gallery, Cincinnati, OH
2013 Already Paintings, The Minute Gallery, Cincinnati, OH
2012 Resting, Pipeline Gallery, Cincinnati, OH
2011 Someplace Real, Plenum Space Gallery, Kansas City, MO
2010 Senior Exhibition, Goppert Gallery, University of Saint Mary, Leavenworth, KS
2009 A Certain Joy, Stacks Gallery, Carnegie Arts Center, Leavenworth, KS
2008 Twelve Paintings From a Photograph, Goppert Gallery, University of Saint Mary, Leavenworth, KS
Selected Two-Person and Group Exhibitions
2017 Intimates, Skylab Gallery, Columbus, OH (forthcoming)
2017 Art Athina, Athens, Greece
2017 Yes, And, Left Field, San Luis Obispo, CA
2017 ATTATCH FILES, 50/50, Kansas City, MO
2017 At Home, Zeitgeist Gallery, Nashville, TN
2017 Girls Favorite, Fluorescent Gallery, Knoxville, TN
2016 The Kennington Residency Presents Paintings and Objects, The Kennington Residency, London, England
2016 We Lost Our Tails, Proto Gallery, Hoboken, NJ
2016 Funkytown, Urbano, Berkeley, CA
2016 Wavy Dash, Terrault Contemporary, Baltimore, MD
2015 More or Less, Front/Space, Kansas City, MO
2015 The Affordable Art Fair, New York, NY
2015 New Faculty, Gaddis Geeslin Gallery, Huntsville, TX
2015 Group Show, Sunday, Los Angeles, CA
2015 Inaugural Group Show, Left Field, San Luis Obispo, CA
2015 Chill, Zen, Funk and Twang, Curating Contemporary, Online Exhibition
2015 This is what is Not, Mist Gallery, mistgallery.com, Online Exhibition
2014 Sugar Rush, En Em Art Space, Sacramento, CA
2014 New Abstraction: 3 Select, Metropolis Collective, Mechanicsburg, PA
2014 Extraordinary Flecks and Things Butting Up, LOHIOH, Cincinnati, OH
2014 By The Pleasure of Doing, Espacio 20/20, San Juan, Puerto Rico
2014 NO WERK, Trocadero Art Space, Melbourne, Australia
2014 Tangent, Fraction Print Studio, Kansas City, MO
2014 divisible: please, actually, introspective, Divisible Project Space, Dayton, OH
2014 Business Casual–collaborative exhibition with Max Manning, Neon Heater Gallery, Findlay, OH
2014 Group Show, Galleri Urbane M+D, Dallas, TX
2014 YWAs Exhibition, Wonder Fair Gallery, Lawrence, KS
2014 LUSH, Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati, OH
2014 Fiction, University of Dayton Galleries, Dayton, OH & Neon Heater Gallery, Findlay, OH
2014 Finalists Exhibition, 2014 Miami University Young Painters Competition for the William and Dorothy Yeck Award, Oxford, OH
2013 Pop-Up, Niehoff Design Center, Cincinnati, OH
2013 Members’ Small Works Exhibition, ROY G BIV Gallery, Columbus, OH
2013 Fresh Paint Showcase, Media Wall at Commerce Square, Philadelphia, PA
2013 Crosspollination–collaborative exhibition with Max Manning, 840 Gallery, Cincinnati, OH
2013 SWEETYSALTY SCULPTUREFUNK–collaborative exhibition with Max Manning, Pipeline Gallery, Cincinnati, OH
2013 Basic Needs, semantics Gallery, Cincinnati, OH
2013 All Fall Down, Meyers Gallery, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH
2013 Modern Makers & Fernside Benefit Art Auction, Niehoff Urban Studio, Cincinnati, OH
2013 It’s Not The Heat, It’s The Humidity, St. Louis Artists’ Guild, St. Louis, MO
2013 Working It Out, The Painting Center, New York, NY
2013 6x6x2013, Rochester Contemporary Art Center, Rochester, NY
2013 USB Shuffle Show, Institut Fur Alles Mogliche, Abteilung Fur Alles Andere, Berlin-Mitte
2012 Yes We Art Open, Scioto Studios, Cincinnati, OH
2012 POST (BLANK) IT, 840 Gallery, Cincinnati, OH
2012 Textual Healing, Pipeline Gallery, Cincinnati, OH
2011 ONPROCESSES, Goppert Gallery – University of Saint Mary, Leavenworth, KS
2011 Chain Letter, Shoshana Wayne Gallery, Santa Monica, CA
2010 Undergraduate College Student Exhibition, Kansas City Artist Coalition, Kansas City, MO
2010 Miller Award Exhibition, De Paul Library –University of Saint Mary, Leavenworth, KS
2009 Undergraduate College Student Exhibition, Kansas City Artist Coalition, Kansas City, MO
Honors & Awards
2016 Nominee for the inaugural FATE Shout Out Award, a national award for
non-tenure track faculty demonstrating excellence in teaching.
2014 Finalist for Miami University’s Young Painters Competition for the William
and Dorothy Yeck Award, Oxford, OH Graduate Scholarship, University of Cincinnati
2013 Paula Henderson Beck Prize, St. Louis Artists’ Guild Jean Tatgenhorst Conrad Travel Fellowship Fund, University of Cincinnati
Graduate Scholarship, University of Cincinnati Sophomore Review panelist, University of Cincinnati Graduate Scholarship, University of Cincinnati
2010 Lore & Mel Mallin Scholarship Award, Kansas City Artist Coalition Summa Cum Laude Honors, University of Saint Mary Departmental Honors, University of Saint Mary Delta Epsilon Sigma National Honor Society, University of Saint Mary Kappa Gamma Pi National Honor Society, University of Saint Mary
2007-2010 Miller Art Award, University of Saint Mary
Professional Activities
2017 Panel Presenter, Start Strong: Reasons and Approaches for Creative Ideation, FATE Biennial Conference, Beyond The Core, Kansas City, MO
2015 Artist Talk, Sam Houston State University, Huntsville, TX Visiting Artist Lecture, University of Saint Mary, Leavenworth, KS Juror, Undergraduate Spring Exhibition, University of Saint Mary, Leavenworth, KS
Moderator for artist talk & panel discussion, Front/Space, Kansas City, MO
2012 Juror, Undergraduate Spring Exhibition, University of Saint Mary, Leavenworth, KS
2011 Assistant Gallery Manager, Byron C. Cohen Gallery for Contemporary Art, Kansas City, MO
2010 Internship, Byron C. Cohen Gallery for Contemporary Art, Kansas City, MO
Bibliography
2017 Feature: “Inside The Studio: Jessica Simorte”, https://www.upriseart.com/journal/inside-the-studio/visit-with-jessica-simorte
Feature: “Humpday Haiku”, https://commandzine.com/2017/01/25/humpday-haiku-jessica-simorte/
2016 Feature: “Under the Radar”, http://www.artslant.com/ny/articles/show/46569
Feature: “Bringing Art To Millenials with Tze Chun of Uprise Art”,
http://artzealous.com/bringing-art-to-millenials-with-tze-chun-of-
uprise-art/
Publication Review: Headless Greg, “Review of
Looking At Painting, Vol. II”, http://www.headlessgreg.com/blog/looking-at-
painting-2
Interview: “Now Featuring Jessica Simorte”, http://blog.littlepaperplanes.com/now-featuring-jessica-simorte/
2015 Feature: “5 Young Female Artists Who Should Definitely Be On Your Radar”,
http://www.bustle.com/articles/125091-5-young-female-artists-who-should-definitely-be-on-your-radar
Looking At Painting, Vol. 2, Winter, 2015
Maake Magazine, Issue no. 2, Winter, 2015
Interview: “Jessica Simorte”, http://www.maakema
gazine.com/jessica-simorte
Article: “Affordable Art Fair: Something For Everyone”,
The Forum, September, 2015
http://theforumnewsgroup.com/2015/09/16/affordable-art-fair-something
-for-everyone/
Podcast: Studio Break Podcast, http://studiobreak.com/jessica-simorte/
Interview: “Meet Jessica Simorte”, http://blog.upriseart.com/jessica-
simorte/Kool Kids Klub Fanzine, Issue no. 5, Spring ’15
Feature: Jessica Simorte, http://blog.littlepaperplanes.com/jessica-
simorte/
Interview: “Q + A with Jessica Simorte”,
http://www.galleriurbane.com/uploads/5/8/7/0/5870415/simorte_q_and_a.pdf
Interview: “Mist Gallery Artist Interviews”, http://www.mistgallery.com/blog/?category=Artist+Interviews
2014 Nue Magazine, Issue no. 1, Summer ‘14
Review: New Exhibit Asks What’s With The Gender Imbalance in Art, July, 2014 http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2014/jul/06/new-exhibit-asks-whats-gender-imbalance-art/?print
Interview: “Artists Questioned”, http://sbmacinnis.wordpress.com/2014/05/04/artists-questioned-as-a-
young-artist-how-do-you-plan-to-establish-and-sustain-an-art-practice/
Feature: “Artist Crush: Jessica Simorte”, http://arthound.com/2014/08/artist-crush-jessica-simorte/
2013 Interview: “Artists Spotlight: Jessica Simorte”, Fresh
Paint Magazine, Issue no. 1
http://www.freshpaintmagazine.com/1/post/2013/10/jessica-simorte.html
Fresh Paint Magazine,
Issue no. 1, Fall ’13 The Hand Magazine, Issue no. 1, Summer ‘13
2011 Review: “The Fine, Strong Ties That Bind”,
Review: Mid-America’s Visual Arts Publication.
http://ereview.org/2011/07/02/the-fine-strong-ties-that-bind-jessica-
simorte/
2009 Review: “New Exhibit, Jessica Simorte”, Leavenworth Times, July 2009
Gallery Affiliations
Uprise Art, New York, NY
Public Collections
Young Art, Stockholm, Sweden
