Exhibition guide

Patrick Simkins questions the transience of existence and the possibility of a new way of life, in harmony with the entire living world. His artistic process comes first from his questioning of the flow of images circulating on social networks. Would these have taken the place of social interactions in real life? Don't we spend more time on screens than living in tune with reality? These are the questions the artist asks.

Visit details

  • Dates: From Tuesday, May 5, 2026 to Saturday, May 16, 2026: Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday from 2:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. From Wednesday, April 8, 2026 to Saturday, April 18, 2026: Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday from 2:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
  • Venue: Galerie du Haut Pavé, 3 quai Montebello, Paris
  • Price: gratuit
  • Audience: Tout public.
  • Source: Event page

About the exhibition

From images gleaned from the internet, superimposed and the result of which inspires a possible coherence, he creates drawings in which everyone can discover shapes that fit together: an approach similar to automatic drawing. Patrick Simkins brings to light somewhat strange situations which inspire a certain concern in the face of climate change. The viewer can tell stories, take a moment to perceive plants growing, some in pots...

By taking the time to observe his drawings and paintings, spherical shapes can be read. These are bubbles, balloons, eggs, elements in transition symbolizing a form of prevented fertility. We know that we are part of life and that our actions towards the planet each have a determining place. However, our ideas remain floating and it would be urgent to take action, to move forward, to “do our part” of the hummingbird, to use the philosophy of Pierre Rabhi. These are the messages that the artist wishes to convey. In his more recent works, a plant shoot emerges from planet Earth. “The egg and the planet seem to be one and the same. The fertility of humans and that of the planet are interdependent” for Patrick Simkins. This tends to make us aware of certain paradoxes: a desire for links with nature and the desire to control it. In his current series, Wild Garden, started on the day his son was born, he reflects our desire to restore our sensitivity to natural elements, to appreciate them, to take the time to know them in order to better preserve them. Beyond a reflection on the loss of a physical relationship with nature, the artist aims to encourage us to consider the importance of human relationships, enriching and constructive.

Like a gardener, the artist has made his studio the place for composting his pictorial works. For this exhibition at the Haut Pavé gallery, Patrick Simkins creates “a rock garden”. Plants, made from recycled canvases, each inserted on a fragment of bitumen, raise our questions: what new species will grow on land that has become infertile? Which plants will adapt to climate change? Certain “flower-rocks” have previously been entrusted to visitors who will be able throughout the exhibition to choose to make them dialogue with the paintings in order to continue the installation.

Let’s focus more specifically on his paintings. These present strong color contrasts, attract our attention as much as they can cause a certain disturbance. What emerges is an atmosphere that is both joyful, close to a desirable future and a somewhat worrying world. We then think about the state of the planet that we will leave to future generations...

Thus, Patrick Simkins tends to ask us