EDUCATION
2011 - 2014 The Julian Ashton Art School (Recipient of the Sydney Mechanics’ School of Art Full-Time Scholarship)
2006 - 2011 Flinders University (Bachelor of Behavioural Science and Bachelor of Arts)
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2025 – Staged Theoretical, Eloise Cato Gallery, Sydney
2025 – Body Talk, Flinders Lane Gallery, Melbourne
2025 – Stages, New England Regional Art Museum
2023 – Charged, Lethbridge Gallery, Brisbane
2023 – Stages: Sydney World Pride, Woollahra Gallery at Redleaf, Sydney
2023 – Personas, Frances Keevil, Sydney
2022 – Memories and Dust, Flinders Lane Gallery, Melbourne
2022 – Stages, Manning Regional Gallery, NSW
2021 – Distance, Flinders Lane Gallery, Melbourne
2021 – Epoch, Frances Keevil, Sydney
2020 – Drive, Flinders Lane Gallery, Melbourne
2018 – Interfacing, Stanley Street Gallery, Sydney
2017 – Brink, Cambridge Studio Gallery, Melbourne
SELECT AWARDS AND PRIZES
2024 Finalist in the John Leslie Prize for Australian Landscape Painting, Gippsland Regional Gallery
2024 Finalist in the Calleen Art Award, Cowra Regional Gallery
2023 Finalist in the Archibald Prize, The Art Gallery of NSW
2023 Finalist in the Sunshine Coast Art Prize, Caloundra Regional Gallery
2023 Winner of the Packers’ Prize at the Kennedy Art Prize, The Royal Art Society of South Australia
2022 Finalist in the Darling Portrait Prize, The National Portrait Gallery
2022 Finalist in the Mosman Art Prize, Mosman Art Gallery
2022 Finalist in the Mudgee Portrait Prize, Mudgee Arts Precinct
2021 Finalist in the Calleen Art Award, Cowra Regional Gallery
2021 Finalist in the Clayton Utz Art Award
2021 Finalist in the Shirley Hannan Portrait Prize, Bega Valley Regional Gallery
2020 Finalist in the Percivals Portrait Prize, Perc Tucker Regional Gallery
2020 Finalist in the Global Art Awards, Shanghai, China
2019 Highly Commended at the Naked and Nude Art Prize, Manning Regional Gallery
2019 Highly Commended at the Melt Portrait Prize, Brisbane Powerhouse
2019 Finalist in the Eutick Memorial Still Life Award, Project Artspace
2019 Finalist in the 14th International ARC Salon, Art Renewal Center
2019 Finalist in the Fisher’s Ghost Art Award, Campbelltown Arts Centre
2018 Winner of the Young Artist Prize, the Royal Art Society of NSW
2018 Winner of the SBS Portrait Prize, Southern Buoy Studios
2018 Winner of the EBNA Portrait Prize and People’s Choice Award, YSC Consultancy
2018 Finalist in the Kilgour Art Prize, Newcastle Art Gallery
2018 Finalist in the Hurford Hardwood Portrait Prize, Lismore Regional Gallery
2017 Finalist in the Doug Moran National Portrait Prize, Juniper Hall
2017 Finalist in the Lyn McCrea Memoral Drawing Prize, Noosa Regional Gallery
2017 Highly Commended at the Lethbridge 10000 Small Scale Art Award, Lethbridge Gallery
2016 Winner of the Cliftons Sydney Art Prize and Cliftons People's Choice Award
2016 Finalist in the Blacktown Art Prize, Blacktown Arts Centre
2016 Finalist in the Black Swan Prize for Portraiture, Art Gallery of Western Australia
2016 Winner of the Cambridge Studio Gallery Portrait Prize
SELECT GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2025 – Intro, Eloise Cato Gallery, Sydney
2025 – The Figure, Lethbridge Gallery, Brisbane
2024 – Horizons, Flinders Lane Gallery, Melbourne
2023 – Lives of Their Own, Flinders Lane Gallery, Melbourne
2022 – Glow, Lethbridge Gallery, Brisbane
2022 – Wanderlust, Flinders Lane Gallery, Melbourne
2021 – Home, Lethbridge Gallery, Brisbane
2020 – A Passion Shared, The ELLIOTT EYES COLLECTION, Maitland Regional Gallery, NSW
2020 – Artists to Watch, Lethbridge Gallery, Brisbane
2020 – Still, Flinders Lane Gallery, Melbourne
2019 – Nude, Flinders Lane Gallery, Melbourne
2019 – On The Fringe, Flinders Lane Gallery, Melbourne
2019 – Equus, Frances Keevil Gallery, Sydney
2018 – Undercurrents, Flinders Lane Gallery, Melbourne
2018 – Temporal, Lethbridge Gallery, Brisbane
2017 – Exploration 17, Flinders Lane Gallery, Melbourne
RESIDENCIES
2024 – Bundanon Artist in Residence Program
2024 – Gang Gang Residency Program
2021 – The Broken Hill Art Exchange
2019 – The New York Academy of Art, Summer Undergraduate Residency
COLLECTIONS
Maitland Regional Art Gallery, NSW
The Elliott Eyes Collection, Sydney
Accenture (YSC) Collection, Sydney
The Thomas Keneally Centre at the Sydney Mechanics’ School of Arts, Sydney
St Patrick’s College, Strathfield, Sydney
Champagnat Catholic College, Sydney
Cliftons Art Prize Collection, Sydney
The M2M Collection, Sydney
SELECT PUBLICATIONS
2025 – Art Almanac, ‘Michael Simms: Body Talk’, Dr Joseph Brennan, June 2025.
2024 – About Face by Amber Creswell Bell, Thames & Hudson, September 2024.
2024 – ‘The Little Book of Art Essays’, Flinders Lane Gallery, February 2024.
2022 – The Adelaide Advertiser, ‘Fielding an Electric Talent’, June 2022.
2022 – The Manning River Times, ‘Acclaimed Portrait Artist Speaks at Opening of New Exhibition’, September 2022.
2018 – The Music, Boon, Maxim, ‘Top Talent in 2018’, January 2018.
2018 – Beautiful Bizarre Magazine, Gregson, Caitlyn, ‘Interfacing’, 4 September 2018.
2017 – 'Talking With Painters' Podcast, Episode #23, Stoljar, Maria, 25 May 2017.
2017 – The Guardian Australia, Harmon, Steph, ‘Doug Moran portrait prize 2017 finalists: from Isla Fisher to Ahn Do’, 11 October 2017.
2017 – The Daily Review, ‘Doug Moran Portrait Prize Finalists 2017’, 11 October 2017.
2017 – The Contemporary Art Awards, Ong, Annette, ‘On The Periphery’, March 2017.
2017 – Artospective, Sing, Manav, ‘Paintings by Michael Simms from Australia’, 21 August 2017.
2016 – The North Shore Times, 'Drawing On Inspirations', 20 April 2016.
2016 – Western Sydney Local Health District News, 'Sydney Artist Paints Westmead Doctors In New Light', 19 January 2016.
2016 – Parramatta Advertiser, Morris, Cathy, 'Portraits a Window into Surgeon Role’, 27 January 2016.