Kerry Simmons

Stained Knees (2017)
graphite on paper
13 x 11.5 in.

I’m inspired by art that uses limitations as strengths—radio, its stories gripping through the unseen or imagined, or black and white film, its images intensified by a lack of color. In the streamlining of information, that ambiguity can inspire curiosity. Limiting my work in color and scale, I make room for interpretation and imagination. Using only graphite pencils sanded to needle thin points, I render near-miniature vignettes, inviting the intimacy that comes when one is required to lean in close. The small scale of the drawings and delicacy of the medium allow for a controlled field on which to work out an idea, feeling, or piece of story. Whatever is left out, I leave to the viewer to complete. Peeking into the window of a dollhouse, one can see just enough to contemplate what is happening in the tiny room and to imagine other rooms.

© Kerry Simmons