William John Sims

William John Sims is a finalist in The British Art Prize 2026. His work is signed "Simssy".
Largely self-taught, Sims studied drawing at the Hong Kong Academy of Fine Art and was a founding member of the Asia International Artists Association (AIAA). His work is held in private collections internationally.
Before devoting more of his time to painting, Sims served as a diplomat in the British Foreign Service, living and working across Asia, Africa and the Middle East. These experiences, together with memories of the places and people he has encountered, continue to inform his work.
Since 2020, Sims has signed his work "Simssy", marking a period in which his practice has moved increasingly towards a contemporary and more abstract visual language. His recent paintings move between abstraction, landscape and the human figure. Working predominantly in oils, he builds and scrapes back surfaces, simplifying subjects into blocks of colour, shape and texture.
Increasingly, the paintings are concerned less with literal representation than with atmosphere, memory and the physical presence of paint. His practice moves between the recognisable and the abstract, retaining just enough of the original subject to invite the viewer to complete the i...

1988 — Great Sheffield Art Show, Sheffield, UK
2013 — A Voyage Around Wanchai, American Chamber of Commerce, Hong Kong
2021 — IKON for Artists, IKON Gallery, Birmingham, UK
2026 — The British Art Prize, OXO Gallery, London, UK