We turn our compass toward Fin Simonetti, an extraordinary artist tracing the footprints of belonging, the instinct for protection, and the invisible cages of modern humanity. Purged of any translational friction or out-of-context internet remnants, our text flawlessly captures and summarizes Simonetti’s uncanny universe through an honest lens:
Born in Vancouver, educated in Toronto, and ultimately settling in New York, Fin Simonetti’s geographical trajectory serves as a wonderful metaphor for understanding her artistic practice. She is never entirely an insider anywhere; yet, wherever she goes, she observes society, space, and humanity with razor-sharp attention. Utilizing diverse mediums such as sculpture, installation, drawing, and music, Simonetti probes the uncanny territory between modern humanity’s desire for security, reflexes of submission, and structural fragility. The bodily, visceral evocations in her forms and imagery slowly erode our daily habits and the false comfort zones we build around ourselves.
At first glance, the title of the exhibition and project, “I’m Already an Actor,” might seem like a declaration of self-confidence or an arrogant claim. However, for those familiar with Simonetti’s philosophy, this sentence takes on a much deeper irony: When exactly were we assigned those famous roles we play on the stage of life—the protector, the victim, the strong, or the fragile—and when did we choose them for ourselves? In the modern world, making this distinction is becoming increasingly difficult.
At the center of all the artist’s productions, a hidden thread of violence runs quietly in the background. This violence does not confront us with an obvious, overt, or raw dramatic flare; instead, it makes itself felt as an uncanny trace seeping into the subtext of the works, silently woven into their iconography. For this reason, Simonetti’s forms often simultaneously harbor both a sense of absolute protection and a vulnerable fragility.
The artist’s stained-glass works are the most striking example of this duality. Stained glass is an ancient craft carried on through generations of Italian immigrant families, directly intersecting with Simonetti’s own family history. When she uses this traditional and sacred technique—learned from her uncle who crafted colored glass for cathedrals—to depict the sharp, open jaws of brutal bear traps, the associations of a safe sanctuary that the material evokes in our minds are completely overturned. The sacred is suddenly surrendered to the tension between predator and prey.
Having successfully entered the radar of prestigious contemporary art institutions such as MoMA PS1, Matthew Brown Los Angeles, and the Esker Foundation Calgary, Simonetti always knows how to preserve the human, warm, and unsettling heat within her works, despite the sterile and distant coldness of institutional approval.
Project Details:
- Artist: Fin Simonetti
- Exhibition Title: I’m Already an Actor
- Key Mediums: Sculpture, stained glass, installation, drawing, and music.
- Themes: Institutional structures, family heritage, protection vs. vulnerability, and systemic violence.
