FROM THE CHAMBERS

In December 2022, the innovative artist, activist, writer, and filmmaker John Sims passed away suddenly at his studio in Sarasota. The tragic loss of Sims left a deep impact on the art world. Sims’s art, informed by mathematics, design, sacred symbols, and poetic text, boldly confronted white supremacy, the Confederate flag, and the deep disparities and division within our society. The Ringling is honored to have had the opportunity to work closely with Sims, who

Shortly before his death, Sims penned a tribute to Abstract Expressionist sculptor John Chamberlain’s former studio site in Sarasota. The essay, along with a video poem by Sims, Sculpture magazine. Sims finished the essay standing before Chamberlain’s demolished studio, writing “I pour some coffee libation to the ground in memory, in honor and respect for the spaces that bring forth the best evidence of our humanity and capacity to create. Now, I am ready to get to the studio and work on my newest From the Chambers. Just weeks before his and the video poem Lost Chambers directly

From the Chambers: Honoring John Sims brings those two works together, on view publicly for the first time, in conjunction with John Chamberlain’s sculpture Added . The exhibition serves as just one part of the significant legacy the artist leaves