As I was driving down La Brea the other day, I happened to notice that the folks over at UNDFTD were putting up their latest billboard from acclaimed artist Gary Simmons. The new Purple Haze piece looks to keep inline with Simmons’ most recent work, with its combination of loaded language and highly stylized use of graphic typography.
His recent exhibition at Metro Pictures in New York, which took inspiration from the film Conquest of the Planet of the Apes, included strong burning images of a futuristic Los Angeles that parallels the theme of racial tension and aggression found in the movie.
“In this exhibition, Simmons’ gestural erasure method of producing his paintings and drawings results in the appearance of the buildings and language engulfed in flames and includes a painting of the famed Hollywood sign, giving nod to Ed Ruscha’s iconic painting of the L.A. County Museum of Art burning.” – an excerpt from the Metro Picture’s description of Night of the Fires.
Click below for more images from Night of Fires
