The structure, texture, and materials of clothes have continuously informed Diane Simpson's sculptural practice. In her works, Simpson combines clothing designs with elements of architecture, exploring the sociological roles and styles of the clothes we wear and the buildings that surround us. For example, in a series of sculptures created in 2016, Simpson marries references to ancient Greek peplum tunics with Art Deco architectural details, giving way to surprising juxtapositions. For this project, Simpson will create prototypes for her very first costumes made for moving bodies, laying the groundwork for her first fully realized performance presented by FD13 residency for the arts in 2019. Her designs will take inspiration from buildings across Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Art Deco objects and textiles in the collection of the Minneapolis Institute of Art, as well as early twentieth century costume and theater designs by Varvara Stepanova and Oskar Schlemmer.

Diane Simpson is a Chicago-based artist who creates sculpture and preparatory drawings that evolve from a diverse range of sources, including clothing, utilitarian objects, and architecture. The structures of clothing forms has continuously informed her work, serving as a vehicle for exploring their functional and sociological roles and the influence of the design and architecture of various cultures and periods in history. Simpson’s works have been included in the 2019 Whitney Biennial. Other museum exhibitions include solo shows at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago (2016) and The Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston (2015). Recent solo gallery exhibitions include Herald St., London (2018); JTT, New York (2016); and Corbett vs Dempsey, Chicago (2016). Her work has been acquired by the Art Institute of Chicago; the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, the Hessel Museum of Art; Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston; Kadist Foundation, Paris and San Francisco; Perez Art Museum; and the Whitney Museum, New York. In 2016, she was given the honor of presenting the Distinguished Alumni Lecture at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. In 2018, she received a research grant from the Graham Foundation to support her project Architecture in Motion commissioned by FD13 Residency for the Arts in Minneapolis-Saint Paul, Minnesota.