A Carefully Crafted Totem by Venerated Artist Arthur Simms is Now on View on The High Line

Photo by Timothy Schenck.

The High Line announced that Arthur Simms’ commission, A Totem for the High Line., is now on view. Looming 40 feet tall over the High Line, the work beckons viewers from both the sidewalks of Chelsea and the pathways of the park. Installed at the 16th Street Spur Preserve, a location marked with visible remnants of the High Line’s industrial and wild past, Simms’ totem fittingly stands as a monument to memory and history. The sculptural assemblage, composed of weathered utilitarian materials and personal effects wrapped meticulously in rope, is a trademark of the artist’s decades-long career.

“It’s been an honor to work with Arthur Simms and to bring to the High Line one of his most iconic works, which will be visible both from up on the park and down on the street level,” said Cecilia Alemani, the Donald R. Mullen, Jr. Director & Chief Curator of High Line Art. “I hope that park goers will be inspired to find new connections between Simms’ powerful sculpture and the history of the High Line and the city at large.”

In addition to comprising materials that have become core to his body of work—wood, rope, and personal objects—A Totem for the High Line. speaks directly to its site, both on the High Line and in New York City. This new site-specific sculpture incorporates a decommissioned utility pole found on Randall’s Island, assorted cables, and discarded license plates from various states, suggesting intertwined journeys across great distances that connect in New York City.

By integrating these elements, Simms continues his practice of entangling and reusing objects to emphasize the various histories and meanings they carry. The work stands as an homage to transformation and the perpetual unfolding of our past, present, and future.

Simms is well-known for creating elaborate assemblages of seemingly disparate found and personal objects that coalesce into intimate reflections on his lived experience, familial history, and spiritual reverence. Autobiographical in nature, his work incorporates trinkets, materials more likely found in a hardware store than an art supply shop, and objects gifted by friends and loved ones looking to clean house and discard what they view as “junk.” Simms pairs these elements with deeply personal belongings such as tufts of his and his wife’s hair, keys, identification cards, and letters from his late mother. He then binds these discordant pieces together by meticulously wrapping them with twine, wire, or hemp rope—the latter, a symbolic reference to his Jamaican roots—to the point of near non recognition. Simms’ practice is grounded in his cultural heritage and dual identity as both Jamaican and American; he uses his sculpture to narrate stories of personal identity, family, spiritual and physical journeys, emotional tensions, and nostalgia for home.

ABOUT THE ARTIST
Arthur Simms (b. 1961, Saint Andrew, Jamaica) lives and works in Staten Island, New York. He has held solo exhibitions at international institutions, including Kunstmuseum St. Gallen, St. Gallen, Switzerland (2024); Amelie A. Wallace Gallery at SUNY College, Old Westbury, New York (2011); and the Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin, Ireland (2008). Notable group exhibitions include Nature Doesn’t Know About Us, Sculpture Milwaukee, Milwaukee, Wisconsin (2023); Caribbean Transitions, American University, Katzen Arts Center, Washington, DC (2022); Infinite Island: Contemporary Caribbean Art, The Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, New York (2007); and Site/Insight: An Assemblage of Artists, MoMA PS1, Queens, New York (2003). He has participated in international art exhibitions, including the Kingston Biennial 2022, Kingston, Jamaica (2022); the 58th Venice Biennale, Venice, Italy (2019); Queens International 2002, Queens Museum of Art, Queens, New York (2002); and the International 94, Socrates Sculpture Park in Queens, New York (1994). In 2001, he represented the inaugural Jamaica Pavilion at the 49th Venice Biennale in Venice, Italy.

SUPPORT
Lead support for High Line Art comes from Amanda and Don Mullen. Major support is provided by Shelley Fox Aarons and Philip E. Aarons, The Brown Foundation, Inc. of Houston, and Charina Endowment Fund.

High Line Art is supported, in part, with public funds from the National Endowment for the Arts, the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature, and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the New York City Council, under the leadership of Speaker Adrienne Adams.

ABOUT HIGH LINE ART
Founded in 2009, High Line Art commissions and produces a wide array of artworks on the High Line, including site-specific commissions, exhibitions, performances, video programs, and a series of billboard interventions. Led by Cecilia Alemani, the Donald R. Mullen, Jr. Director & Chief Curator of High Line Art, and presented by the High Line, the art program invites artists to think of creative ways to engage with the unique architecture, history, and design of the park, and to foster a productive dialogue with the surrounding neighborhood and urban landscape.

For more information on High Line Art, please visit thehighline.org/art.

ABOUT THE HIGH LINE
The High Line is both a nonprofit organization and a public park on the West Side of Manhattan. Through our work with communities on and off the High Line, we’re devoted to reimagining public spaces to create connected, healthy neighborhoods and cities.

Built on a historic, elevated rail line, the High Line was always intended to be more than a park. You can walk through the gardens, view art, experience a performance, enjoy food or beverage, or connect with friends and neighbors—all while enjoying a unique perspective of New York City.

Nearly 100% of our annual budget comes through donations. The High Line is owned by the City of New York and we operate under a license agreement with NYC Parks.

For more information, visit thehighline.org and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram.

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