Rick

Simpson

 The World of Fantastic Realism and Imagination

Great art is the work of the whole living creature, body and soul.  It is the inspiration of the artist's knowledge and inspiration that breathes life into ink, paper and other media.  Without it, art is pure decoration.

To Quote Francis Bacon:  "Find subjects that really absorb you. Without a subject that eats into you, you automatically go into decoration. The greatest art always returns you to the vulnerability of the human situation.  Our greatest obsession is with ourselves. I’ve done a lot of self-portraits."  That is the essence of my own artwork.  I create primarily figurative images that reflect my own thoughts. 

My imagery comes from deeply personal and cultural experiences, having lived in nine different countries.  I draw from my subconscious to express myself in dreamlike images emerging from a stream of consciousness.  For me, this process is purely intuitive and not planned in advance.  I do not make preparatory sketches. 

My chosen genre is Fantastic Realism, an Art Movement established in Vienna in 1946.  It involves imagery that combines the painterly techniques of the Old Masters' realism with religious and esoteric symbolism and metaphors.

PERDITION NOW

(A visual commentary on the personification of Covid-19)

Rick Simpson is a member of The Saatchi  Art Gallery, The Society for Art of Imagination, Artoteque (London), The Museum of Computer Art in New York City (MOCA). He has also displayed his artworks in Seattle, Los Angeles, San Francisco. London and New York.   His work has received international awards,

Rick Simpson received his MFA in Fine Art Printmaking at the University of Oregon, where he taught lithography for three years.  He discovered digital fine art painting when he moved to Saudi Arabia after graduation. 

He has since become a master of the digital art medium.  Although he received a Master of Fine Arts in Printmaking, I have concentrated on digital painting techniques for more than 25 years. 

His artwork is greatly influenced by a 12-year residence in Europe, where he absorbed artistic genres from contemporary abstract expressionism to Old Masters.  Also, his many years of living and traveling in the Middle East and Asia expanded his exposure to international art movements.   

His Nom d'Art, ALTKUNST, is a name he coined more than 25 years ago.  It is the combination of "Old" and "Art" in German.  This reflects the most prevalent influence on his approach to art.