“Making Art Fun Again!” Ron Simmer works in the Vancouver area mainly with found materials and objects. He searches for discards that speak to him with the promise of sublime creations that will amaze, tickle, surprise or give pause to think. He enjoys the mental game of taking consumer rejects and making the mundane and common into the unique and spectacular. Ron recycles materials from our consumer culture to create fanciful commentary on modern society. He attempts to take people back to their childhood by creating large scale toys and colorful birds and animals. His art is created to be an interactive physical experience and often incorporates optical illusions. He has been influenced by the pop art movement, beginning with Miro, Rauschenberg, Warhol and Koons. He works with groups celebrating human creativity and spirituality, contributing art to local festivals and events. On occasion he joins forces in collaborative projects with technicians, designers and other artists to create large scale exhibits Ron has created public art installations for the annual Peace Arch Park International Sculpture Exhibition, the Vancouver ReVision@Creekhouse Granville Island show, the Castlegar Sculpturewalk, CityArt Mankato, San Juan Islands Sculpture Park, Gallery Without Walls Lake Oswego, the El Paseo Exhibition in Palm Desert and the Evans Road Roundabout public sculpture for the City of Chilliwack. Ron is an executive member of the Sculpture Society of BC and is head of the executive committee for ReVision, the group of local Vancouver BC area artists devoted to creating art from recycled materials. He is also a director of the Burnaby Arts Council and an officer of eatART (Energy Awareness Through Art). Ron’s inspiration comes from his background – commercial fisherman, steel fabricator, construction worker, boat builder, Librarian – and his contact with nature through kayaking, sailing, skiing and hiking. Ron Simmer (BA, BLS) is an Emeritus Librarian (U. of British Columbia) and has lifetime experience managing public and private sector information research teams. He now operates PATEX Research and Consulting Ltd., a professional patent search service. Ron lives with his partner Janice Woodland in Burnaby, BC, Canada. Son Max enjoys life in Berlin. More details involving his art and activities may be found on his websites. Most of the art and installations indicated on the site are designed for outdoor display and robustly constructed of metal and resin.
Ron Simmer
