I’m a staunch believer that Lorna Simpson is without doubt one of the most vital photographers of her technology, so I’m pained to report that Supply Notes — a monographic exhibition of the artist’s work at The Met — is a combined bag. Conceptually, the work is simply as robust as ever: The painted screenprints collage collectively archival photos from Ebony and Jet magazines, fusing these touchstones of Black tradition with photos of Arctic glaciers and, extra lately, the rocky types of meteorites. Simpson grounds this mixture in riveting historic truth, together with the story of the African-American Arctic explorer Matthew Henson, who was probably the primary particular person to succeed in the North Pole in 1909. She thus positions Black historical past squarely within the Romantic painterly custom of the Burkean elegant, which sought to seize the mixed sense of concern and awe that one feels within the face of an immense, unvanquishable panorama — suppose Caspar David Friedrich’s “The Sea of Ice” (1823–24) or Peder Balke’s “From Nordland” (c. 1860–69), to call simply two different artists with latest Met exhibitions. Artwork historical past nerds, in different phrases, will love this.
The issue is that this monumental transfer doesn’t all the time maintain up on the work’ monumental scale. Critically, these works are monumental: 12 by 8 1/2 ft (~3.7 by 2.6 meters) in some instances. However whereas each sq. inch of Simpson’s photographic work packs a compositional punch, these work generally really feel like JPEGs which have been blown up past their optimum decision. (In step with this, the work images higher than it seems to be in actual life, because the composition comes into focus at smartphone dimension.) Owing partially to the flatness of the canvas’s floor, sure works can really feel deflated by massive stretches of house that simply aren’t doing that a lot once you rise up near them. Work like “Ice 8” (2018) or “Vanish” (2019) lack visible density in particular person and, I’m sorry to say, don’t reward deep trying the way in which Simpson’s different work does. Although the size displays the immensity of the subject material, I wonder if it was partly decided by the incessant market stress for artists to go larger and greater. Both method, the smaller photograph collage items — relegated to sitting flat beneath a glass case — are among the best-articulated works within the present.
Lorna Simpson, “Night Fall” (2023), ink and screenprint on gessoed fiberglass
However don’t take this as an invective for photographers to “stay in their lane” or different such nonsense. Two work particularly communicate to Simpson’s potential throughout the medium: “Night Fall” (2023) is the icy portrait of a lady superimposed over an upside-down waterfall, the paint tumbling and twisting from her chest like blue dye by a glass of water. The craggy strains of the rocks that body her face unfold just like the wings of a blue morpho butterfly. Simply entering into the room looks like a chilly plunge. It’s an amazing work, and kudos to whichever “private collection” managed to snag it. (Please, depart it to a museum!) “Detroit (Ode to G.)” (2016) additionally feels firmer than the opposite work on view, maybe as a result of its modular parts give it extra inner compositional stress, just like the literal combustion it depicts.
Lorna Simpson, “Detroit (Ode to G.)” (2016), ink and screenprint on clayboard, 9 x 8 ft (~2.7 x 2.4 meters)
Maybe the unevenness of Supply Notes is a results of The Met pushing the present out earlier than the work was totally gestated. Regardless of the purpose, it left me craving for an alternate model of the exhibition wherein a tighter portray choice hung side-by-side together with her good photograph collages, showcasing the complete energy of Simpson’s inventive punch.
Lorna Simpson, “Rihanna” (2020, left), “Living Large” (2020, middle), and “Beach Walk” (2023, proper), all collage on paper
Lorna Simpson, “Ice 8” (2018), ink and acrylic on gessoed wooden
Element of Lorna Simpson, “Ice 8” (2018), ink and acrylic on gessoed wooden
Lorna Simpson, “Ebony Branches” (2010), collage and ink on paper, with reflections from the lights seen on protecting glass
Lorna Simpson, “Head on Ice #3” (2016), ink and screenprint on gessoed fiberglass, 67 x 50 inches (~1.7 x 1.3 meters)
Lorna Simpson: Supply Notes continues on the Metropolitan Museum of Artwork (1000 Fifth Avenue, Higher East Aspect, Manhattan) by November 30. The exhibition was curated by Lauren Rosati.
