THE ARTS AROUND
EASTERN OREGON
MIXED MEDIUM
3
JANUARY 5�12, 2022
Artist John Simpkins launches online exhibit of paintings
Go! staff
J
ohn Simpkins spent 10
years living in an Oregon
ghost town, and now anyone in
the world can view his collection
of 38 paintings created during
his decade in Andrews, which is
near Steens Mountain.
The online exhibition is titled
“Elephant in the Room.”
“The paintings are the culmi-
nation of a dedicated eff ort to
explore and express,” Simpkins
said. “It was a decade spent look-
ing deeply, listening and dream-
ing freely. Most of the paintings
speak about the Earth and its
many lifeforms.”
Viewing is free. To tour his ex-
hibit, go to www.johnsimpkins.com.
He said the online exhibit —
using technologies created by
Ikonospace of Holland and Kunst-
matrix of Berlin — brings the
viewer into a 3D virtual museum
space “that conveys the size, vi-
brancy and detail of each painting
in a life-size context.”
Navigating from room to room,
viewers can zoom in on the paint-
ings for a closer look or zoom out
to see the full scale of the large-
format pieces.
“The paintings fl owed onto
the canvas ‘intuitively’ — I did not
plan them,” he said. “They mani-
fested over time, some taking six
months to complete while others
came quickly.”
In 2018, Simpkins exhibited a
collection of these pieces at the
High Desert Museum in Bend in
a show titled “Desert Mystic: The
Paintings of John Simpkins.” His
tenure living and painting in the
desert was featured in an Emmy
www.facebook.com/jsimpkins
John Simpkins’ online exhibit “Elephant in the Room” features work he created during 10 years living in the ghost town of Andrews, Oregon.
Award-winning documentary
on OPB’s “Oregon Art Beat” in
2015. Find that episode at https://
watch.opb.org/video/oregon-art-
beat-painter-john-simpkins/.
Simpkins said the landscape
around Andrews reminded him
of Tibet.
“Once I got there, I thought,
‘Oh my gosh, this is what I
wanted,’” he said.
After spending a decade
in Andrews, Simpkins moved
to Baker City in 2021. He lives
and has a studio space in
Churchill School.
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He hopes to someday see
the entire Andrews collection
displayed together.
“It is my hope that this virtual
exhibit will inspire an actual
exhibition of these paintings
in a museum or gallery,” Simp-
kins said.
VIRTUAL ART
SHOW
Take a tour of John
Simpkins’ virtual show
“Elephant in the Room,” at
www.johnsimpkins.com.