Simone Couto is a Brazilian-American artist whose interdisciplinary art practice draws from historical, geographical, and cultural references to consider the ways in which culture, identity, and environment come together to shape lives. She typically works with soil as her primary medium, examining the physical and symbolic relationship between identity and landscape. She explores these concepts deeply, creating works that highlight the interplay between them. Examining themes of hospitality, reciprocity, and belonging, Couto's work shifts from the individual to the collective, walking paths, creating spaces, and documenting stories to later develop into multimedia installations. Ultimately, her pieces strive to gain insight into what it means to be human and part of the world that can be claimed with care.

Simone Couto Studied Theater at the University of Rio de janeiro, holds a Bachelor of Arts in Creative Arts from San Francisco State University and a Master of Fine Arts in Art Practice from the School of Visual Arts. She has taken part in various residencies, including the International Studio & Curatorial Program (ISCP), the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art's (MASSMoCA) Museum Studios (twice), the NARS Foundation, and the Hafnarborg Museum of Fine Art in Iceland. Furthermore, she has served on the advisory panels for the New York Council for the Arts (NYSCA) Individual Artist Program, the Immigrant Artist Program of the New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA), and the Artist Residency at The Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (MASSMoCA). Couto has exhibited her artworks both nationally and internationally, including venues such as the Science Museum in Seoul, South Korea, and multiple installations in New York City - such as PioneerWorks, The Invisible Dog Art Center, and Electronic Art Intermix (EAI). Her works are also featured in prestigious collections, including the New York Public Library. She is presently a Professor at the Fine Arts Department of the School of Visual Arts (SVA) and at Montclair State University (MSU)'s Department of Art and Design.

Self Portrait, Digital Media, Size Variable, 2018