Artists

Francesco Simeti

Press release

The solo exhibition of Francesco Simeti brings together a group of recent works, including ceramic sculptures, a tapestry, and a large sculpture in wood and metal. The project originates from research developed for the Cheongju Craft Biennale in Korea and reflects on the dynamics of intensive resource exploitation. Machines with almost anthropomorphic features, designed to cut down and uproot trees with speed and precision, become the central iconographic focus of the work: hybrid presences that embody an ambiguous tension between technology, control, and violence. Through the layering of images and materials, Simeti constructs a visual language in which formal seduction and critical content coexist, inviting reflection on the ecological and symbolic consequences of human intervention in the landscape. Francesco Simeti was born in Palermo, Italy (1968), lives and works in Brooklyn, New York. Francesco Simeti is an artist known for his site-specific installations, which aesthetically present enchanting scenes that reveal a more complex subtext upon closer inspection. Simeti is an artist whose practice explores the intersection between beauty, power, and social critique. Best known for his immersive installations and site-specific works, Simeti often employs decorative motifs—such as wallpapers, tapestries, and ornamental patterns—as tools to question historical narratives and expose the darker realities hidden beneath aesthetic surfaces. Drawing from archival materials, mass media imagery, and natural landscapes, his work confronts themes of environmental degradation, political conflict, and collective memory. By juxtaposing the seductive and the unsettling, through a unique blend of craft, design, and activism, his research not only reclaims traditional forms of decoration but also transforms them into powerful instruments of contemporary reflection. Public Art is a fundamental aspect of his practice; he has worked with Percent for Art and Public Art for Public Schools in NYC, the Multnomah county in Oregon and has created permanent additions to subway stations in Brooklyn and Chicago. In 2025, he inaugurated a permanent site-specific intervention at MAO, Museo d'Arte Orientale, Turin, Italy.