Simon Degroot (b.1981) studied at the Queensland College of Art and completed a PhD in 2017. With a pre-art school background in commercial printing he brings to his art work a crispness and sharpness that is inherent in a printed surface. But his work is never really flat. Degroot works in the field of abstraction and layering. His forms are abstract, and his process is one of abstracting the parts of his composition from the profiles of existing objects or surrounding architectural components, and layering them over each other. This is to create shifts and movement. It’s like seeing double. In Transfer Echo Contact Sheet 4, while the overall impression is of flatness, the acrylic laser cut also creates a slight shadow of depth, revealing a sense of movement even playfulness, so that the work remains forever active.
Degroot has exhibited in Sydney, Cairns, Brisbane. In 2015 and 2018 he was awarded the Moreton Bay Art Award.
In addition to his studio practice Degroot creates large-scale wall paintings and exterior murals. He has completed significant public work for a range of high profile clients including The City of South Perth, Bundaberg Regional Galleries, Queensland Rail, Cairns Regional Council, Brisbane City Council and The Brisbane Hilton.
He has work in the collections of Artbank, Sydney and Melbourne, Hilton Brisbane Hilton Sydney, Crown Towers Perth, Lady Cilento Hospital Brisbane, Moreton Bay Regional Gallery, Museum of Brisbane, Sunshine Coast University Hospital.
