Miami artist Troy Simmons first encountered Brutalist architecture when he discovered Rainer Disse’s Feldberg Church along his travels in the Black Forest of Germany. The structure’s rugged concrete against the forest’s natural backdrop captivated him, so much so that he now translates that vernacular to canvas, juxtaposing raw, unfinished concrete against colorful, sleek pigments .
Approaching each piece like a construction project—his heaviest to date weighs 300 pounds—the Bakehouse Art Complex resident artist creates three-dimensional renderings and detailed drawings before hammering and chiseling away at the cement. “The process and layers involved in creating one piece is a reflection of who we are as humans,” Simmons says. “We all carry heavy, complex yet beautiful experiences in our souls.” See his solo show in May at JanKossen Contemporary in New York.