Taglialatella Galleries is pleased to present its first solo exhibition of the summer with Rich Simmons, the London-based Contemporary Urban-Pop artist exploring the intersections of visual culture inspired by comic books, the Renaissance, contemporary fashion, sexuality, and beyond. Simmons will travel to the US to debut his first solo show in New York City since 2015, opening Thursday, June 23rd in Taglialatella’s flagship Chelsea location.
Representative of his multi-faceted focus, Rich Simmons will appropriately open his exhibition in the midst of the much anticipated NFT.NYC week, just days prior to the world-famous New York City Pride March. Simmons has never shied away from exploring and challenging social constructs with his art, notably creating the now-famous image of Batman Kissing Superman in 2014, often referred to as “Superhero Lovers”. Quoted in the Huffington post in 2016, “I wanted to create a dialogue about equality by taking the two most alpha male superheroes and placing them in this embrace.” explained Simmons. Going on to ask: “If you were in need of being saved from something, would it matter if the person who could be your hero was gay or not?”
Continuing his exploration, Simmons tackled the ever-expansive NFT space in 2022 by launching his first NFT collection of 3,333 unique variations called Reflections. The collection sold out immediately, amassing over 1.7 million dollars of sales in just one week of trading. While Reflections remains Simmons’ only NFT release to date, Taglialatella Galleries has partnered with SuperRare to release an entirely unique, animated, 1/1 Reflections NFT in June as part of the much-anticipated Rich Simmons exhibition.
There are points in life where the energy changes, and you feel a momentum shift. 2022 has been one of those waves of change that has pushed me to a new level as an artist.
I have always been the type to push limits and try and raise the bar and evolve after every exhibition I do. Lockdown took away my gallery show opportunities. It gave me the time to explore my ideas deeper, experiment with new techniques and develop new methods of using color and technology to create art. I had an opportunity to pause, reflect, refresh and take my creativity in new directions.
As soon as I discovered NFTs, I realized the potential to create in new ways, generate a community of fans and collectors and take the art experience to new levels. I want to be a pioneer and connect the physical gallery world with digital art and the metaverse. Bringing different ideas together on how to create, display and experience art and show the value in both mediums is something I am in a perfect position to do.
This show with Taglialatella Galleries has been a dream for years. To exhibit in a gallery that hosts some of my heroes in the art world is a huge honor, but to do it in this manner with both physical paintings and NFTs on display and an audience of art fans from both sides of the fence feels like the position my art was made for.
Real art is still important. Digital art is important. Creating a new way to experience both is my passion. I am forging my own path in the art world. Inspired, refreshed and chasing new goals that rewrite what it means to be an artist. ~Rich Simmons
The solo exhibition will feature new, original paintings on canvas, works on paper, and in celebration of Pride, Simmons will pass out free, hand-signed limited edition prints of the iconic Superhero Lovers to the first hundred guests to enter Taglialatella Galleries. The opening reception on June 23rd, 2022 will be located at 229 10th Ave, from 6 - 8pm and the artist will be in attendance. For additional information or to RSVP, please contact Taglialatella Galleries at +1 (212) 367-0881 or email [email protected].
