Charles Simonds

Charles Simonds (born 1945) is an American contemporary artist and sculptor based in New York. He is best known for his sculptural series titled Dwellings, small clay constructions the artist has been installing in buildings across the world since the 1970s.

Life and work Charles Simonds was born in 1945 in New York City. Critic Hilton Kramer, writing for The New York Times, claimed that Charles Simonds' "outlook has been shaped and stamped by the ethos of the counterculture that emerged in the late 60s".

Dwellings (1970s–now) In 1970s, Simonds began installing small clay sculptures titled Dwellings around New York City. The sculptures have been described as "impermanent constructions in the crevices and vacant lots of New York neighborhoods" According to art historian Ann Reynolds, "landscape, body, and dwelling" are the central themes of Simonds' practice.

In 1981, he was commissioned to install Dwellings at the Marcel Breuer-designed building of the Whitney Museum of American Art located at 945 Madison Avenue. The Whitney Dwellings sculpture has remained at the building under subsequent tenants, including the Met Breuer between 2016 and 2020 and, since 2021, the Frick Madison.