Artists Statement:
“Queer people don’t grow up as ourselves, we grow up playing a version of ourselves that sacrifices authenticity to minimize humiliation and prejudice. The massive task of our adult lives is to unpick which parts of ourselves are truly us and which parts we’ve created to protect us.” – Alexander Leon
I make autobiographical assemblage art dioramas, sculptures and installations. Objects with personal significance serve as the catalyst and become part of an idiosyncratic and sometimes cryptic symbolic visual language. The items may be new or old, broken or intact – a figurine, a flash cube, a pocket comb or a pill bottle.
Engagement in constructing the pieces prompts deeper contemplation and new insights into how my past connects to the present moment. These discoveries inspire the inclusion of more objects that support the evolution of the narrative, and the piece takes form.
I use bright colors, quirky compositions and irreverent juxtapositions to engage viewers and invite them to interpret the pieces based on their own associations and to encourage reflection on their own lives.
Bio:
As the 1980’s “art scene” was exploding in New York City, Tom worked as a cater-waiter for events in galleries, museums and art collectors homes. His exposure to a great deal of exciting new art led to the development of a deep appreciation for contemporary artwork – in particular found object art and assemblage. It was work by self-taught artists that emboldened his return to his childhood love for crafts and making things.
Inspired by Joseph Cornell’s shadowboxes and recalling the dioramas from grade school that used ordinary craft materials and random odds and ends to depict various scenarios, he began collecting objects with particular significance to use as characters, set pieces and props. The personal, idiosyncratic meaning of the objects make the pieces somewhat surreal and the narrative abstract – however, as the viewer makes their own associations a story emerges that is as much theirs as it is his.
His pieces revisit personal history as a way to explore identity and create a visual autobiography. The connection to childhood and play gives the work a whimsical quality that is attractive while the darker subtext that emerges from beneath the surface indicate a mature hand at play in its creation.
Tom has shown in venues in the Los Angeles area and greater California, including the Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery, The Lancaster Museum Of Art, The Torrance Art Museum, Brea Gallery, Studio Channel Islands, Gallery 825, LA Artcore, and bG Gallery.
Tom has a BFA in acting from SUNY At Purchase. Primarily self-taught as an artist, he has also studied with Franklyn Liegel at the Art Center Pasadena, CA. He has been a member of The Los Angeles Art Association since 2006. He was born in Queens NY, grew up on Long Island NY, and lived in New York NY until 1995, at which time he moved to Los Angeles where he currently resides.
Education:
1982 BFA, SUNY at Purchase
Art Center College Of Design with Franklyn Liegel
Awards:
2023 |”Connections” | The Collage Artists Of America | Juror Kristine Schomaker
2023 | “Made In CA” | City Of Brea Gallery | Staff Pick
2023 | “The Next Big Thing” | Studio Channel Islands Gallery| Third Place | Juror Shana Nys Dambrot
2021 | “The Next Big Thing” Studio Channel Islands Gallery| Second Place | Juror Peter Mays
2020 | “Open Show” | San Fernando Valley Arts And Cultural Center | Best In Show | Juror Adria Becker
2017 | “32nd Annual Cedarfest | Lancaster Museum Of Art | City Manager’s Award
2016 | “Invisible Realities” | Satsuma Gallery | Best In Show | Juror Paul Botello
Exhibitions:
Solo Shows
2014
“Play Therapy” | Wallspace Gallery, Los Angeles, CA | Curator Valda Lake
Group Shows
2024
“Passion” | San Fernando Valley Arts And Cultural Center (online exhibition) | Curator Shayna Nys Dambrot
“Playtime” | The Makery Gallery, Los Angeles, CA | Curators Dave Lovejoy, Cathi Milligan
“Reputed” | Los Angeles Art Association (online exhibition) | Curator Peter Mays
“Indistinct Chatter” | Los Angeles Art Association (online exhibition) | Curator Peter Mays
2023
“Open Show” | Gallery 825, Los Angeles, CA | Curator Andi Campognone
“Aurora” | Los Angeles Art Association (online exhibition) | Curator Peter Mays
“Connections” | Collage Artists Of America (online exhibition) | Curator Kristine Schomaker
“The Next Big Thing 2023” | Studio Channel Islands Gallery, Camarillo, CA | Curator Shana Nys Dambrot
“Human Form And Figure” | San Fernando Valley Arts And Cultural Center (online exhibition) | Juror Adria Becker
“Made In The USA – Freedom Of Expression” | TAG Gallery, Los Angeles, CA | Curator Scott Yeskel
“Full-Bodied” | Los Angeles Art Association (online exhibition) | Curator Peter Mays
“Text/Message” | Shoebox Projects (online exhibition) | Curator Kristine Schomaker
“Informationary” | Los Angeles Art Association (online exhibition) | Curator Peter Mays
“38th Annual Made In CA Exhibition”| City Of Brea Gallery, Brea CA |
“Non-sequitur”| Los Angeles Art Association (online exhibition) | Curator Peter Mays
“Coy” | Los Angeles Art Association (online exhibition) | Curator Peter Mays
2022
“The Next Big Thing 2022” | Studio Channel Islands Gallery, Camarillo, CA | David Pagel
“There From Here” | Artshare LA, Los Angeles, CA | Curator Baha Danesh
“Made In The USA” | Tag Gallery, Los Angeles CA
“Kapaipai Group Exhibition” | Melissa Morgan Gallery, Palm Desert, CA | Jurors Andi Campognone, Melissa Morgan
“Adorn” | Los Angeles Art Association (online exhibition) | Curator Peter Mays
“Drama:Storytelling In Art” | Orange County Center For Contemporary Art, Santa Ana, CA | juror Ziying Duan
“Artists Vision” | Marin Society Of Artists (online exhibition) | Curator Jen Tough
“Human Faces And Forms” | Las Laguna Gallery (online exhibition)
“Penumbra” | Los Angeles Art Association (online exhibition)
2021
“The Next Big Thing 2021” | Studio Channel Islands Gallery, Camarillo, CA | Curator Peter Mays
“Reflections” | Launch L.A., The Korean Cultural Center, Los Angeles, CA | Jurors Sunook Park, Terrell Tilford
“Artists Guild Summer Exhibition” | San Diego Museum Of Art (online Exhibition) | Juror Anita Feldman
“LA Open” | Tag Gallery, Los Angeles CA |
“That’s Effin’ Funny” | Shoebox Projects (online exhibition) | Juror Debbie Korbel
“Apocrypha” | Los Angeles Art Association (online exhibition)
“Rosig” | Kunsthaus RoZig (online exhibition) | Jurors Eugene Huffman, Connie Kurtew
“Ready Go” | Los Angeles Art Association (online exhibition) | Curator Peter Mays
“Gild” | Los Angeles Art Association (online exhibition) | Curator Peter Mays
“Aurora” | Los Angeles Art Association (online exhibition) | Curator Peter Mays
2020
“Kunsthaus RoZig” (online exhibition) | Curators Eugene Huffman, Connie Kurtew
“Open Show 2020” | Gallery 825, Los Angeles, CA | Curator Shana Nys Dombrot
“Make Plain” |Los Angeles Art Association (online exhibition) | Curator Peter Mays
“Words On Printed Page” | Los Angeles Art Association (online exhibition) | Curator Peter Mays
“15th Annual California Open” | Tag Gallery, Los Angeles, CA | Juror Kate Mothes
“Non sequitur” | Los Angeles Art Association (online exhibition) | Curator Peter Mays
“Gleaming Apollo” | Los Angeles Art Association (online exhibition) | Curator Peter Mays
“Made In California” | City Of Brea Art Gallery, Brea CA | Jurors Heather Bowling and Evan Senn
“A Novel Defense – Medical Face Masks As Art” | The Slow Down Gallery, Highland Park CA
“Open Show” | San Fernando Valley Arts & Cultural Center, Tarzana CA | Juror Adria Becker
“Open Show” | Galley 825, Los Angeles CA | Juror Ade Omotosho
2019
“My Youth” | TAG Gallery, Los Angeles, CA | Curators K. Ryan Henisey, Eugene Huffman
“Putting It Back Together” | UCR Palm Desert, CA | Juror Terry Hastings
2018
“Stripes” | bG Gallery, Santa Monica CA
“2018 California Open Exhibition” | TAG Gallery, Los Angeles, CA | Juror Kim Abeles
“Who Do You Think You Are?” | San Fernando Valley Art & Cultural Center, Tarzana, CA | Juror Lesley Krane
2017
“Addiction” | Shockboxx Gallery, Hermosa Beach, CA | Juror Laura Schuler
“Art In Play” | Beyond The Lines Gallery, Santa Monica, CA
“Hellmouth” | Avenue 50 Studio, Highland Park, CA | Curator Leonard Greco
“No Restraint” | Ark Gallery, Altadena, CA | Curator Kristine Schomaker
“Sizzle – The 5th Annual Summer Show” | Wallspace Gallery Los Angeles, CA | Curator Valda Lake
“Cedarfest 32nd Annual Juried Arts Festival” | MOAH Cedar Lancaster, CA | Jurors Robin Rosenthal, Nicolas Shake
“Out There” | Gallery 825, Los Angeles, CA | Curators Francisco George and William Escalera
“Pissed Off” | Tom Of Finland House, Los Angeles, CA | Curator Rhiannon Aarons
“The Next Big Thing 2017” | Studio Channel Islands, Camarillo, CA |Curator Tish Greenwood
“Made In California” | City Of Brea Art Gallery, Brea, CA
“El Festival De Las Flores” | Neutra Gallery, Los Angeles, CA | Curator Dulce Stein
“Personal Narrative” | Annenberg Community Beach House Malibu, CA | Curators Diane Williams and Sheli Silverio
“Make America…” | Gallery 825, Los Angeles, CA | Curator Nancy L. Meyer
2016
“Open Show” | Gallery 825, Los Angeles, CA
“Mas Attack” | Torrance Art Museum, Torrance, CA
“Systems + Process” | Angel City Brewery, Los Angeles, CA | Curators Sheli Silvrerio and Diane Williams
“All Media 2016” | Irvine Fine Arts Center, Irvine, CA | Curator Dan Cameron
“Play” | Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery, Los Angeles, CA | Curator Scott Canty
“CA 101” | South Bay Galleria Mall, Redondo Beach, CA | Curator Nina Zak Laddon
“LA Artcore 2nd Annual Online Competition & Exhibition” | LA Artcore Brewery Annex, Los Angeles, CA | Jurors Andi Campognone, Peter Frank, Tracey Landworth, Ramone Munoz, Mark Steven Greenfield
“Out There” | Gallery 825, Los Angeles, CA | Curators Francisco George and William Escalera
“The Next Big Thing” |Studio Channel Islands, Camarillo, CA | Curator Peter Mays
“This Foolish Game” | Gallery 825, Los Angeles, CA | Curator Kurt Mueller
2015
“Osmosis” | Wallspace Gallery, Los Angeles, CA |Curator Valda Lake
“Out There” | Gallery 825, Los Angeles, CA |Curators William Escalera and Francisco George
“small time” | Gallery 825, Los Angeles, CA |Curator Cris McCall
2014
“Synthesis” |Wallspace Gallery, Los Angeles, CA |Curator Valda Lake
“Habitual” | Gallery 825, Los Angeles, CA | Curator Mills Moran
2013
“Pop Uber Alles” | Gallery 825, Los Angeles, CA | Curator Timothy Potts
“DiscARTed” | Ojai Art Festival, Ojai, CA | Curator Deborah Munk
“One” | Wallspace Gallery, Los Angeles, CA | Curator Valda Lake
2012
“Vivacity” | Wallspace Gallery, Los Angeles, CA | Curator Valda Lake
2011
“Art Traffic” | The Advocate & Gochis Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2008
“Out There” | Gallery 825, Los Angeles, CA | Curator Cliff Benjamin
“Art Objects” | The Advocate & Gochis Gallery, Los Angeles, CA|Curator Allison Moon
2007
“Out in NoHo” | NoHo Gallery, Los Angeles, CA|Curator Dan Debevoise
2006
“Invisible Realities” | Satsuma Gallery, Los Angeles, CA | Juror Paul Botello