A reception will be held today for artist Randy Simmons, whose charcoal drawings have been featured in the Spiva Gallery since Oct. 14.

Simmons will give a presentation on his work at 4:30 p.m. in the Ancillary Room in 202 of the Art Department. The reception will follow at 5 p.m.  

“I have a PowerPoint that discusses my technique, brief autobiography, my art heroes, and I’ll go into each work briefly to discuss the thoughts behind the work,” said Simmons. “Hopefully, my sense of humor comes through. I always invite questions from the audience at my gallery talks. I’m very honest and passionate about my work. I think that shows.”

Simmons is a professor at Paducah School of Art at West Kentucky Community and Technical College, and was selected to have his work displayed at Missouri Southern by the Art Department through an application process.  

“We put out a national search on websites like Professional Artist Magazine or College Art Association, and he saw the advertisement and applied with a body of his work,” said associate professor of art Burt Bucher. “We have hundreds of applications and it was narrowed down by a committee and his work was selected from that group.”  

The pieces displayed are large, striking black and white drawings. Much of Simmons’ work depicts images such as the human form, self portraits, and some social and political issues.  

 “Nearly all of my work is autobiographical,” said Simmons. “My inspirations had been coming from my adult relationships and my children.

“I do some political work but not a lot and I really don’t want to preach politics or religion for that matter,” he said. “Social concerns come up, like the drawing American Standard, in which I drew an underage girl pregnant.”

 The drawings are presented on large white dividing walls, transforming Spiva Gallery into a maze. The work is done in charcoal, a medium Simmons said he fell in love with while working on his second master’s degree in Cincinnati.