[David Simonton's] work...embodies a curiosity and tenderness and way of seeing that's rare.
Bryan Schutmaat, Photographer

Simonton loves the little towns, the country roads, the dusty rail lines and crossroads garages. He looks with sympathy at the old downtowns...He often goes around back, and finds the ludicrous assortment or homely dignity of things there, and often a humble beauty. He carries his camera before him like a dowser carries a forked stick...He composes his pictures with an acute appreciation for the juxtaposition of shapes, lines, textures, shadows, reflections - but there is nothing cold or removed about the work. It is very humane. [He] records for us the old North Carolina at its moment of passing.
Kate Dobbs Ariail, The Independent Weekly, Durham, NC

I think David's work is really important. There is a great tradition in documentary photography of photographing things before we lose them.
Sam Stephenson, Author, The Jazz Loft Project: Photographs and Tapes of W. Eugene Smith from 821 Sixth Avenue, 1957-1965

Simonton's nocturnal landscapes are mysterious and intelligent.
Robert Mann, Robert Mann Gallery, New York City

[With his] subtle geometric series, North Carolina at Night, Simonton proves himself to be a kind of Zen master of the unexpected view.
Michele Natale, Spectator Magazine, Raleigh, NC

[Simonton's work is characterized by] originality of expression, a strong guiding idea, skillful use of the chosen photographic materials, personal integrity and relevance to our own times.
Weston Naef, Curator of Photographs, J. Paul Getty Museum (2002)

David has a moviemaker's eye and a cinematographer's sensibility, heightening the atmosphere just enough to reel us in. The places he captures appear to be right out of 'To Kill a Mockingbird,' and I can imagine those hot summer nights, the murmurs of southern drawl and the sound of ice in a glass; and a stillness, where a twig snapping means more than the wind.
Aline Smithson, Lenscratch

David Simonton approaches his work with a great deal of thought and integrity, and a desire to make a meaningful contribution to the body of photographic images of North Carolina. [His] work has a timeless, meditative quality, not because it captures a moment in time, but because it emphasizes the timeless elements of balance, shape, symmetry and line.
Diana Turnbow, Duke University Museum of Art, Durham, NC

...the camera's thoughtful gaze is intensified to the point of abstraction in Simonton's concise and spare nighttime views...
Therese Mulligan, George Eastman House, Rochester, NY

...Good pictures stay with you, and over time there become many ways of seeing them; that is what keeps photographs alive. I first saw [David's pictures] about three years ago, and they are still a part of my discussion about life in a small town.
John A. Bennette, Collector, Curator, Lecturer and Writer, NY (2011)

In a sense, [Simonton's] work is about the delight—the fun—of puzzling out a picture.
Dr. Anthony Bannon, Director, George Eastman House, Rochester, NY (2010)