Rich Simmons

Rich Simmons (born 20 February 1986) is an English pop artist, based in London.

Early life

Richard Simmons was born in Peterborough in 1986. Career

Simmons's depiction of Batman Kissing Superman gained notability when it was painted in London and New York City. In 2015, the mural in London was defaced in an act of 'homophobic vandalism', reaching condemnation from the leader of Croydon Council leader Tony Newman, also the owner of a print by Simmons.

In 2011, he commemorated the wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton with a punk mural on an official graffiti wall on London's South Bank, inspired by a 1970s photograph of the Sex Pistols’ Sid Vicious and girlfriend, Nancy Spungen, taken by Jamie Reid.

In 2012, 2013 and 2014, Simmons had solo shows at Imitate Modern in London's West End. From 2014 to 2015, he had a solo show at Soho Contemporary Art in SoHo, Manhattan.

In 2022, a Burberry trench coat painted by Simmons was shown at London Fashion Week, in a collaboration with the label Gent London, to promote sustainability and climate awareness. Simmons used a pop-art butterfly technique he is known for called “Skullerflies"; a percentage of the proceeds of the garment's sale was donated to environmental charities.

Exhibitions 2011 – The Street Art Show, Opera Gallery, London 2012 – Just Be You Tiful, Imitate Modern, London 2013 – Inner Outsider, Imitate Modern, London 2014 – Kryptonite, Imitate Modern, London 2024 – London Calling, Soho Contemporary Art, New York City 2015 – Misfits, Soho Contemporary Art, New York City 2015 – Corrosively Bright, CASS Contemporary, Tampa, Florida 2016 – Reflections, Pop Up Exhibition, London 2017 – Self Titled, Soho Contemporary Art, New York City 2017 – Pop Provocateur, Box Galleries, London 2018 – Pop Rocks, Imitate Modern, London 2019 – Men of Steel, Women of Wonder, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Arkansas 2019 – Imaginarium, Box Galleries, London 2022 – Self Titled, Taglialatella Galleries, New York City 2023 – Quintestencil, Henarch Galleries, London

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