| sculpture by SIMON BOSES |
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 Artist Bio
I was born in Bethlehem, Israel in 1974. However, most of my childhood took place in St. Petersburg, FL. At a very early age it was apparent that I was interested in art and my parents encouraged this interest. It eventually led me to attend a magnet high school for art called Pinellas County Center for the Arts where I graduated with the Bravo Award (Art Program Valedictorian Equivlent). In 1997 I received my BFA from Maryland Institute College of Art for ceramics.
I’ve been working in clay for more than half my life now. I can say without a shadow of a doubt that it’s one of my greatest passions. If you’d like more information about me take a look at my FaceBook page.
-simon boses
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Artist Statement
 I once read a book about the science of cartoons. The author describes a phenomenon where the simplicity of a cartoon encourages the reader to invest themselves in the character. Cartoons have a unique ability to disarm us. My sculpture attempts to harness this. While an audience's defenses are down I make a suggestion, pointing out a path that perhaps the viewer hasn't explored.
Cartoons are like vanilla ice cream. We all grew up with them. There is something very familiar about the simple lines and shapes. Perhaps in that fact lays their ability to engage us. I grew up in a house that was filled with art from other cultures. I found the stylized lines and forms of cartoons echoed in the art of many cultures. African masks, Egyptian tablet figures, Coptic portraiture and Australian aboriginal bark paintings were among those that captured my imagination and inspired me to weave a thread of symbolism into my work. This is where my own mythology comes in.
A piece is successful when it reveals a familiar moment in what it is to be human. It can be something as small as the affection one feels toward their favorite toy or as complicated as an unrecognized injustice our society unintentionally supports. When the audience recognizes that moment as something from their own lives, possibly something they never took time to think about I consider it to be a success.
It is very important to me that the work has meaning, and it is multi-leveled. I often create a surface meaning that is easier to recognize, then use a library of symbols and text that I’ve developed over my lifetime to layer ideas into the physical form. This allows me to create a deeper, subtler symbolism in the piece.
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