Jerry Simpson's Gallery

Artist Bio

BORN:November 13, 1940 Bellefontiane, Ohio EDUCATION:Grade/High School in Dayton, Ohio. 1947-1960 Ohio University in Athens Ohio 1961-1962 U.S. Army Reserve & National Guard 1963-1969 Central Academy of Commercial Art in Cincinnati,Pop Storey`s Ohio 1965-1967 JOB EXPERIENCE: E.F. McDonald Art Studio in Dayton Ohio 1968-69 Condit Art Studio (Red Gates) in Denver Colorado 1969 Dot Graphic Art Studio in Denver Colorado 1970 Broyles, Allebaugh & Davis Advertising Agency in Denver Colorado 1971-1973 One Man Band Art Studio in Denver Colorado 1973-1987 TEACHING:Rocky Mt. School of Art in Denver Colorado 1978-1979 University of Denver in Denver Colorado 1979 Colorado Institute of Art in Denver Colorado 1980 Metropolitan State Collage in Denver Colorado 1980 Art Lecturer for Denver, Cherry Creek, Jefferson & Sherdian School Districts 1980`s EXHIBITIONS:1988- 2010 Over 225 gallery shows and counting     Westword, Best of Denver, 1990 Westword, Best of Denver, 1998,  The Best Solo Show, Readers Choice, Jerry Simpson Penis Enlarging Machine "Wow!Talk about an interesting, fun place to visit.I operate a tour company called New Millennium Vacations. We do a local tour, "Whimsical Denver".The Gallery is a hit  with everyone. This man not only is creative, but unique in his transformation of everyone's discards, (junk), into world-class art. You could visit weekly and always discover something new.  In my opinion, a true Denver treasure.Lawrence R. Weygand, President, New Millennium Vacations, Inc.", 303-755-0010, Toll Free: 1-866-899-0010   Rocky Mountain News Castoff Character By Betsy Lehndorff, Rocky Mountain News, October 17, 2003 In the darkness, Jerry Simpson parks his old Volkswagen bug behind a home-furnishings store and nudges the driver-side door open with his foot. The 62-year-old slips out of the car and flips open the lid of a lone trash bin. After surveying the contents, he vaults inside, landing among the baskets, pillows and bags of trash almost soundlessly. "Some people are embarrassed to go through dumpsters, because they don't want to be down with all those things people throw away," Simpson says. "But every time I go out, it's like Christmas. I just can't believe it. Whatever I want, I can find." For more than 15 years, the artist has combed commercial garbage bins for art supplies - doll heads, paint, wiring, toys, fabric, beads. The trash of others becomes his treasure, as he recycles materials into the artwork he has exhibited in more than 100 galleries, including the Arvada Center for the Arts and Humanities, the Museum of Outdoor Art and Pirate. But plenty of his finds also have gone into building and decorating the unusual home he lives in at the edge of Interstate 25, where T-REX has eaten away the Emerson Street bridge. In 1978, he moved into a run-down home on weed-strewn property after a divorce. The place consists of a brick home and several detached sheds encircled by a high fence. Every surface has been put to work raising culture's throwaways to the status of high art. One wall is enameled with old Colorado license plates. Another pops with rusting wrenches hung from rusting nails. A gable is filled with old ceiling-light globes. Piles of marble slabs, old pots and pans and antique machinery add texture to a maze of narrow walkways. Surprises in each shed Simpson even has managed to pull a rooftop garden out of the trash, using discarded planks for decking, old pipes for railing and cast-off lawn furniture for seating. "Yeah, a lot of people are surprised when they come in here," Simpson says. "They don't expect it." The biggest surprises are inside each shed. They pop with the color of thousands of mass-produced toys, lunchboxes and tin advertising signs he culled from thrift shops in the 1980s. Even in his kitchen, hundreds of worn pots and pans and other wares form a heavy iron fringe over the small space. "It's an overload really, like my artwork," he says. "You have to study it really to see it." After years of shopping thrift stores, Simpson began going through industrial trash bins in 1988, when he quit a career as a graphic artist to become a fine artist. Knowing money would be tight, he needed a cheaper source of sculpture supplies. Waste not ... "If everybody did what I do, we might get along with the world much better," says Simpson, dressed in his standard uniform: a worn snap-brim hat, Hawaiian print shirt, jeans and running shoes from thrift stores, another fertile ground for goods. "Besides wasting energy, we're wasting the world's raw materials. If we were environmentally responsible to the Earth, there wouldn't be anything in the dumpsters." Some might question the legality - if not the sanity - of Simpson's pursuit. But he does follow the rules. He avoids locked or fenced-in trash bins, instead working those whose owners have granted him permission to explore. He also avoids residential trash bins. A tour of Simpson's live-in work-in-progress begins with a tug at the pair of cow-bone handles on his gate. A narrow wood walkway threads between the brick home and a sturdy-looking shed that supports the rooftop garden. Against the right wall, Simpson has stacked plastic milk-carton crates eight-high. Each holds broken slabs of marble, sorted by color. To the left, he exhibits a pair of antique Thomas Edison recording devices, elevating their status as art by placing them on a platform made out of a large steel conveyor belt. Cobbled creations Round the corner to the right and a wall of colorful metal signs leads to a huge opening in the shed. Simpson has hung wooden teeth and eyes above the entrance, making the building look like a hungry creature. Inside is a sparkling display of art and light. Above an old sofa (a relative's castoff), Simpson has hung hundreds of his works from old Pegboard - another garbage find. No two pieces of art are alike. On the floor is a piece made entirely out of Rubik's Cubes that have been cobbled together. Swirl-colored balls cover a piece of Masonite for another sculpture. Baskets and raffia create the cartoon-like head of a lion. There also is a wild self-portrait of Simpson. "I don't care if I sell my work or not. I just enjoy exhibiting," he says, studying the wall. Artist Phil Bender, who founded Pirate, has displayed Simpson's art and works with throwaways himself. "A big part of the work is finding the objects, the chance encounter, whether it be in a dumpster or a thrift store," Bender says. "Then you take it back to your studio and you let it simmer with the other objects. "Jerry's probably got more stuff than I do, but I'm a real close second. He's so much more organized than I am, so that's his advantage." Organization is the theme that unifies the look of Jerry's home. Veer past a rectangular pile of organized granite chunks Simpson hopes to use as siding, and a tiny courtyard is revealed, carefully filled with more milk crates, piles of boards and old tables and chairs. Another wide door leads to Simpson's work studio, made out of three sheds linked together. The main studio is lined with old books and toys. Colorful lunchboxes, egg beaters and other odds and ends hang in groupings from the vaulted ceiling. In an adjoining shed, he points to floor-to-ceiling storage shelves filled with discarded beer flats. Each is labeled and contains sorted beads, sequins, rubber bands, gargoyles and flowers. The white insulation on the ceiling came from a dumpster behind an organ-transplant-shipping company. The wiring - which meets code requirements - was recycled from the trash; so was the roofing. His own living space is modest in comparison to his work areas. He spends most of his time in the yard or his studios. Accessories are free A small, well-equipped kitchen nestles in a dark shed. The galley-like space includes an old refrigerator, a sink, a stove, several microwaves and toaster ovens, a washer and dryer and a few old cupboards. A huge slab from a tree trunk serves as counter space; hundreds of cooking implements and pots hang from the rafters. "I'd like to have a beautiful kitchen in the future," Simpson says. "I like the industrial look, stainless steel." His bedroom also is modest - a small closet-size space concealed behind thousands of vintage neckties. His simple, platform bed is surrounded by more stuff, including 300 long-sleeved shirts, 500 movies on video and hundreds of National Geographic magazines. Simpson's lifestyle is not for everyone, especially those afraid of dusting. But it suits him. "I think I've been dumpster diving all my life," he says. "It's just a really creative place to find unusual items. And it's free." lehndorffb@RockyMountain News.com or 303-892-2792. Copyright 2003, Rocky Mountain News. All Rights Reserved. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ATC_MakeTrade   Artist Trading Cards are small original self-produced miniature works of art. 2 ½" x 3 ½". You don`t have to be an artist to make ATCs. The idea is that you trade them with other people who produce cards. Usually one for one. You can make single cards or small editions. All types of art, techniques, and materials are accepted; drawings, paintings, collages, rubberstamp, photographs, mixed media, sewing, metalwork, assemblages, found images, etc. On the back of the card put the title, your signature, the date, maybe your address and the number (if the card is part of an edition). Only two rules: the size of the card and no money changes hands. Trade on! YOUTUBE:Documentary FRINGE ART OF THE FRONT RANGE Made with a grant from the Mayor's Office of Art, Culture and Film for the Denver International Airport, this documentary travels through Colorado and Wyoming to find some of the most original artists working today. Director Filmmakers Chris Bagley and Kim Shively uploaded these 4 different part of this 30 minute documentary film with Jerry Simpson The Three Dimensional Man,  Bill Swets Swetsville Zoo,  Mel Gould Buryville, & Howard and Paul Mobley Saraville. From the creative team at Eyeosaur, this is a segment of Fringe Art of the Front Range featuring artist and collector Jerry Simpson. This segment is part of a larger film made with a grant from the Mayor’s Office of Art, Culture and Film for the Denver International Airport. Jerry Simpson     http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3X7_AVpTMg