Painting almost daily for over six decades, Michael Simpson is renowned for his large-scale paintings that repeatedly work through a limited number of motifs. Influenced by fifteenth century Venetian and early Flemish painting, Simpson’s visual vocabulary returns again and again to a belief in “the infamy of religious history”, in his words. These motifs that potently address faith, existentialism and authority - benches, steps and ladders, pulpits, Islamic minbars, and confessional boxes - are the foundational forms of his precise pared down compositions. These structures are rendered with a forensic level of detail, but in such a way that they also become pure forms: benches levitate on an empty plane; ladders lead to nowhere. Simpson’s paintings are characterised by his potent economy and austerity, as well as a marked depth in spatial perspective; their subjects painted on a flat painted surface. But despite their austerity and simplicity, each of Simpson’s paintings contains an elaborate consideration of a specific history. In his Leper Squint series, for example, what might first appear to be a recurring reference to the black square of Kazimir Malevich, is in fact a poignant depiction of a hagioscope, or a ‘squint’; a small hole positioned in the exterior walls of medieval churches for the purpose of allowing lepers to see and hear the sacraments without contaminating the congregation. In another example, Simpson’s ongoing bench paintings, which he started painting in 1989, are an homage to the Italian Renaissance philosopher Giordano Bruno, who was burnt alive in 1600 for heresy.

Education

1960 – 1963 

Royal College of Art London 

1958 – 1960 

Bournemouth College of Art Bournemouth 

Selected Collections 

Arts Council, England
Arts Council, Northern Ireland
Bristol Museum and Art Gallery, Bristol
Camden Borough Council, London
Carlisle Art Gallery and Museum, Carlisle
Control Techniques, The Arup Building
Det Nye Universitets Hospital, Aarhus, Jutland
Ekard Collection Wassenaar, Holland
Kistefos Museum of Contemporary Art, Norway
Lim Collection, Hong Kong
Long Museum, Shanghai, China
Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Denmark
British Council, London
Majerus Collection, Luxembourg
Roberts Institute of Art, London
Royal College of Art, London
Schürmann Collection, Aachen, Germany
Southern Arts Association
Start Museum, Shanghai, China
Tate, London
Ulster Museum and Art Gallery, Belfast
University of Oxford, Oxford
Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool

Awards

2016
John Moores, First Prize

1999
London Arts Foundation Fellowship in Painting

1991
John Moores 17. Prize Winner

1977
Tolly Cobbald Open, Cambridge, Joint First Prize

1976
Major Award. Arts Council of Great Britain

1975
Major Award, Southern Arts Council

1968
Northern Ireland Arts Council Open, Belfast, Joint First Prize

1963
British Council Scholarship to the USSR

1960
University of London Exhibition, First Prize

Solo Exhibitions

2025

Drawing towards Painting: Selected Works 1974–2024, American Art Catalogues, New York, NY, USA

Drawing towards Painting: Selected Works 1974–2024, Modern Art, London

2024

New Paintings, Modern Art, London

2023
Drawing Towards Painting, Holburne Museum, Bath
Paintings, Arario Gallery, Shanghai, China

2022
Paintings, GIANT, Bournemouth
Squint Paintings, Arco, Madrid, Spain

2021
Nosbaum Reding, Luxembourg

2019
New Paintings, Blain Southern, London

2018
Selected Works of Michael Simpson, Minsheng Museum of Art, Shanghai, China

2017
Squint, Blain Southern, Berlin, Germany

2016
Flat Surface Painting, David Risley Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark
Flat Surface Painting, Spike Island, Bristol 

2014 
Study #6, David Roberts Arts Foundation, London

2013 
The Leper Squint Paintings, David Risley Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark

2007
Bench Paintings, Recent Work 2005 – 2006, David Risley Gallery, London

2005
Hymn . Psalm . Song . Prayer - Bench Paintings, The Tithe Barn and The Old Gasworks, Bradford on Avon

1996
Bench Paintings 1992-1995, Arnolfini Gallery, Bristol, travelling to: Oriel 31, Newtown

1985
Recent Paintings, Serpentine Gallery, London

1983
Paintings 1980-1983, Arnolfini Gallery, Bristol

1973
Six large paintings, Bristol Museum & Art Gallery, Bristol

1972
Paintings and Drawings, Piccadilly Gallery, London

1968
Paintings, University of Sussex, Sussex
Michael Simpson, Piccadilly Gallery, London

1964
Paintings and Drawings, Piccadilly Gallery, London

2024

The Principal Cause of Serial Monogamy, Tara Downs, New York, NY, USA

Spotlight On 3: Modern and Contemporary Art from the Collection, Chippenham Museum, Chippenham

2023

Modern Art, Paris, France

2021

Acquisitions 2016-2021, Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Humlebaek, Denmark

Of Clocks and Clouds, Palfrey Gallery, London

2020

Words, Simon Lee Gallery, London

2019

Slow Painting, curated by Martin Herbert, organised by Hayward Gallery Touring, Livinsky Gallery, Plymouth, travelling to: The Edge, Bath; Inverness Museum and Gallery, Inverness; and Leeds Art Gallery, Leeds

2018

Class Reunion, works from the Gaby & Wilhelm Schürmann Collection, Museum Moderner, Künst, Stiftung, Ludwig, Wein, Vienna, Austria
Doodle & Disegno, Blain Southern, Berlin, Germany

2016

Shall we Sit, Stand or Kneel?, with Hannah Levy, curated by Wills Baker, Marlborough Contemporary, New York, NY, USA
Revolt of the Sage, Blain Southern, London
John Moores Painting Prize, Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool
Tightrope Walk: Painted Images After Abstraction, curated by Barry Schwabsky, White Cube, London
The Painting Show, organised by the British Council, Contemporary Art Centre, Vilnius, Lithuania, travelling to: Limerick City Gallery of Art, Limerick, Ireland and Aram Art Gallery, Goyang Cultural Foundation, Korea

On the Immense and the Numberless, David Risley Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark

2015
Absence. Looking for Hammershoi, David Risley Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark

2013
The Debris of the Fuck drawings 1970 – 74, Serge Stauffer: Kunst Als Forschung, Helmhaus, Zurich

2009
The Paper Show, David Risley Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark

2007

Citadel 1: Front Room/Killing Room, David Risley Gallery, London

2005
Accidental Death, David Risley Gallery, London
Crivelli’s Nail, Chapter Gallery, Cardiff

2001
Jerwood Open Drawing Exhibition, EICH Gallery, Kingston upon Hull, travelling to: Kunsthalle Sierre, Sierre, Switzerland

1999
On the Threshold, Octagon Gallery, Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge

1998
East International, Norwich

1993
John Moores 18, Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool

1991
John Moores 17, Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool

1989

John Moores 16, Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool

1987
On a Plate, Serpentine Gallery, London

1982
British Drawing, Hayward Gallery, London

1977
Tolly Cobbald Open, Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, travelling to: Sheffield; Ipswich; London

1975 
Chichester National Open, Chichester

1971
John Player Open, Nottingham

1968
Fine Art for Industry, Royal College of Art, London

1968 Open Painting Exhibition, The Arts Council Gallery, Belfast

Ten English Art Galleries, Florence, Italy

1964
New Painting 1961-64, Arts Council Touring Exhibition
Three Young Painters from The Royal College of Art, University of Southampton, Southampton

1963
Contemporary Image, Upper Grosvenor Gallery, London

Young Contemporaries 1963, F.B.A. Galleries, London, travelling to: Arts Council Gallery, Cambridge; Ferens Art Gallery, Kingston upon Hull; Midland Group Gallery, Nottingham; Towner Art Gallery, Eastbourne; Bradford City Art Gallery, Bradford

The London Group 1963, Art Federation Galleries, London

1962
Painting from English Art Schools, Paris, France

1961

New Painting 1958-61, Arts Council Touring Exhibition

1960
University of London Exhibition, London

1959

Young Contemporaries 1959, The Arts Council Gallery, Cambridge, travelling to: Blackburn Art Gallery, Blackburn, Powysland Museum, Welshpool; Maidstone Museum and Art Gallery, Maidstone
Recent Acquisitions, Arts Council Touring Exhibition

Selected Publications

2025

101 Drawings: Selected Works 1974–2024, New York, NY: American Art Catalogues/London: Modern Art

2024

Michael Simpson, London: Modern Art

2022

Franco, Francesca, Uno spettro si aggira sulla Neoavanguardia: Giordano Bruno, Rome: Edizioni Croce

2019

Burnett, Craig and Fletcher, Jess (eds.), Michael Simpson Paintings and Drawings 1989 — 2019, London: Blain Southern

Herbert, Martin, Take your Time, Leeds: Leeds Museums and Galleries

2017

Moretti, Simon and Burnett, Craig (eds.), Revolt of the Sage, London: Blain Southern, London

2016

Flat Surface Painting, Bristol: Spike Island

Schwabsky, Barry, Vitamin P: New Perspectives in Painting, London: Phaidon

2015

Schwabsky, Barry (ed.), Tightrope Walk: Painted Images after Abstraction, London: White Cube

2005

Hymn-Psalm-Song-Prayer - Bench Paintings, London: Arts Council

1996

Bench Paintings 1992-1995, Bristol: Arnolfini Gallery and Newtown: Oriel 31

Selected Bibliography

2024

Sam, Sherman, ‘Michael Simpson’, Artforum, April

Searle, Adrian, ‘Michael Simpson review – an immolated monk and torture tables make for sinister viewing’, The Guardian, 17 January

2022

Delagrange, Julien, ‘(Post-)Conceptual Painting’, in High on Hope, Kendal: Cross Lane Projects
‘Michael Simpson, Squint paintings’, Paris Match, June

2021
Brausch, Marianne, ‘From the Ascetic to the Exuberant’, D Letzebuerger Land, January-March

2020
Delagrange, Julien, ‘Post Conceptualism and Figurative Painting’, Apologia, November
Barnes, Jacob, ‘Words’, Soft Punk magazine, August

2019
Fullerton, Elizabeth, ‘Michael Simpson. Blain Southern’, Art in America, December 
Horton, Derek, ‘Slow Painting; Leeds’, Corridor 8, December 

Trigg, David, ‘Michael Simpson - interview: ‘Every single painting involves an element of fear’’, Studio International, 27 October

2018
Price, A. R., ‘On the Leper Squint Paintings of Michael Simpson’, Journal of Contemporary Painting, May

2017
Herbert, Martin, ‘Michael Simpson’, Art Review, September

Pietsch, Hans, ‘Metaphysical Spaces - Michael Simpson’, ART - Das Kunstmagazin, February
Watts, Jonathan P., ‘Revolt of the Sage’, Frieze, 26 January 

2016 
Wallace-Thompson, Anna, ‘Revolt of the Sage’, Artforum, December

Buck, Louisa, ‘Revolt of the Sage’, The Telegraph, 9 December

‘Revolt of the Sage’, Aesthetica, 15 November
Price, Adrian, 'Flat Surface Painting and the Plane of Alterity', A celebration of the painting 'Squint 19' by Michael Simpson’, lecture, City University New York, NY, USA, 22 October
Lloyd, Lizzie, 'On the Immense & the Numberless', Frieze, no.179, May 

Trigg, David, ‘Michael Simpson, Flat Surface Paintings’, Art Review, April
Carey-Kent, Paul, ‘Michael Simpson, Flat Surface Paintings, Spike Island, Bristol’, Frieze, March

Quicho, Alexandra, ‘Michael Simpson, Flat Surface Paintings, Spike Island, Bristol’, This is Tomorrow, 4 March
Fenner, Bevis, ‘Michael Simpson, Flat Surface Paintings, Spike Island, Bristol’, Aesthetica, #69, February-March

Wallinger, Mark, ‘Michael Simpson, Flat Surface Paintings, Spike Island, Bristol’, The Observer, 28 February
Buck, Louisa, ‘Michael Simpson, Flat Surface Paintings, Spike Island, Bristol’, The Art Newspaper, 28 January

2015

Searle, Adrian, ‘Tightrope Walk: the show that sums up art in 67 paintings’, The Guardian, 2 December

Luke, Ben, ‘Michael Craig Martin's invited Artists at the R.A. Summer Exhibition’, Evening Standard, 4 June

2014

Mayne, Kate Christina, 'From the Bench to the Window', Art Antwerp, 15 May

Dalwood, Dexter, 'In conversation with Michael Simpson', David Roberts Art Foundation, 16 April 
Pym, William, 'The Confidence Man', David Roberts Art Foundation, 16 April 
Schwabsky, Barry, 'Michael Simpson's Bench Paintings' David Roberts Art Foundation, 16 April 

2013
Wright, Karen, ‘In the studio: Michael Simpson, painter’, The Independent, 17 August

2007

Harris, Roderick, ‘To think is to speculate with images', Turps Banana, Issue 3, July

Schwabsky, Barry, ‘Michael Simpson, David Risley Gallery’, Artforum, April
Rappolt, Mark, ‘Future Greats, Twenty-five Artists to look out for in 2007’, Art Review, March 

Lack, Jessica, ‘Michael Simpson Recent Paintings’, The Guardian, 27 January

1996
McEwan, John, ‘Michael Simpson, Bench Paintings’, Sunday Telegraph, 21 January
Tozer, John, ‘Michael Simpson’, Galleries, January
Godfrey, Tony, ‘Unnamed Paintings’, Bench Paintings 1992-1995, Bristol: Arnolfini Gallery and Newtown: Oriel 31

1992
Kendall, Richard, ‘The State of the Art, John Moores 17’, Apollo Magazine, January 

1985 
Pollitt, Nigel, ‘Michael Simpson at the Serpentine’, City Limits, August

1984
Biggs, Lewis, ‘Michael Simpson Paintings 1980-83’, The Arnolfini Review, January 
Phelps, Edward, ‘Michael Simpson, Arnolfini Gallery’, Arts Review, January

Rowat, Ken, ‘Michael Simpson Arnolfini’, The Guardian, January

Sheldon, Anne, ‘Michael Simpson Paintings 1980-83’, Venue, January

1982
Spalding, Francis, ‘The Hayward Annual’, Times Literary Supplement, August

1975
Gleadow, Teresa, ‘Michael Simpson’, Southern Arts, April

1968

‘Michael Simpson’, Financial Times, April

Blady, Donald, ‘Michael Simpson’, New York Herald Tribune, April

Faucett, Anthony, ‘Doubts and Dilemmas’, Art and Artists, April
Lynton, Norbert, ‘Michael Simpson’, The Guardian, April
Russell, John, ‘Michael Simpson’, Sunday Times, April

Vaizey, Marina, ‘Michael Simpson’, Arts News and Review, April

1963

van der Eyken, William, ‘London University Exhibition’, London Evening Standard, 16 April