Biography

With life-size ceramic "Moss People" sculptures depicting innocent yet beguiling child figures, Kim Simonsson leads the viewer into an imaginative, fairytale-like world inspired by the forests of Finland. His gestures are indeed sublime. Simonsson is a superb sculptor who uses clay with great sensitivity for his subjects. “The name Moss People refers to children’s innate camouflage,” explains Simonsson. “The moss green figures blend perfectly into their natural surroundings, just as a soft carpet of moss covers the ground, rocks and tree trunks and acts as a sort of protection. In the Moss People world, lost and disconnected children, evoking different characters, gather in a Shaman Party, choose leaders and end up creating false idols.” Selected as one of Artnet’s “Nine Fascinating Objects” at 2016 Design Miami, the “Moss People” sculptures are the result of a unique technique combining stoneware, paint and green nylon fiber, which gives the figures their smooth and mossy surface. Every sculpture is handmade and created in the artist’s studio in Fiskars Village, Finland. Simonsson almost became a soccer player but, while biking to a practice one day, he lost his soccer cleats and decided to become an artist. He entered the Department of Ceramic and Glass at the University of Arts & Design and was thereafter captivated by the three-dimensional possibilities of clay. In 2004, he was awarded the Young Artist of the Year prize and invited to work as guest artist for the Art Department Society of Arabia, the famous Finnish ceramics maker.