Tom Simpson * 1965 in Long Beach, California studied Fine Arts at the Art Center College of Design, Pasadena, CA and at the California State University Long Beach, CA. Today he lives and works in Los Angeles, CA. His works have been shown in international exhibition spaces, including Kunsthaus Bregenz (2016), Kunstverein Köln (2013), Kjubh Kunstverein e.V, Cologne (2011), Kunsthalle Bergen, Norway (2010), Jagla Ausstellungsraum, Cologne (Johannes Wohnseifer showed his Tom Simpson Collection, 2009), David Patton, Los Angeles (2007), Kunsthalle Zürich (2007), Galleria D’Arte Moderna di Bologna (2007), Parkhaus im Malkastenpark, Düsseldorf (2002), Room Tomoyo Kawai, Tokyo (2001) or M.A.K. Center, Los Angeles (1998). 

Early this year, Galerie Elisabeth & Klaus Thoman invited Johannes Wohnseifer to propose an artist for the exhibition room next to the main space of the gallery, in which an artist parallel to himself should be presented. Tom Simpson, with whom Johannes Wohnseifer has a long friendship as an artist, responded immediately to the invitation. The extent to which the upcoming exhibition set Simpson’s artistic production in motion can best be understood in his own words:

 „The work came about somewhat accidentally or organically in that I was wandering around in Chinatown here in Los Angeles in late February or early March with my son and came across a basket of these old printed cards of Mao Zedong from the 1960’s for a dollar each. I had been alerted to their presence by an old friend, Mr. Santos R. Vasquez, a bon vivant who had seen them some days earlier and knew I was collecting these types of things for no particular reason or importance. Then this small show with you came up as a reality when previously it was just something Johannes [Wohnseifer] and I had stirred around in conversation one morning over breakfast at his hotel in the Fairfax (LA) in January. So I played around with it as an idea until I was reasonably satisfied, banged it out materially and sent it off to you specifically for this exhibition. I would probably not have made it otherwise, at least not in this form.“ (Tom Simpson)

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