Fred Tomaselli
Encyclopedia
Fred Tomaselli is an American
artist. He is best known for his highly detailed paintings on wood panels, combining an array of unorthodox materials suspended in a thick layer of clear, epoxy resin. Tomaselli is represented by the White Cube
gallery in the UK and the James Cohan Gallery in the USA.
with a B.A. in Painting and Drawing.
, an L.A. punk rock magazine. To partially support himself, he worked at a manager at Gorky's Cafe, a restaurant and local artist hangout founded by Judith Markoff (a retired schoolteacher). In the morning, he could usually be seen smoking a cigarette and drinking coffee reading the L.A. Times with his elbows on the table and his hands covering his ears to block out the ambient noise. Tomaselli often dressed in a punk geek-chique style sporting red rimmed plastic glasses, a button down shirt, cardigan sweater and jeans.
Tomaselli sees his paintings and their compendium of data as windows into a surreal, hallucinatory universe. “It is my ultimate aim”, he says, “to seduce and transport the viewer in to space of these pictures while simultaneously revealing the mechanics of that seduction.” Tomaselli has also incorporated allegorical figures into his work – in Untitled (Expulsion) (2000), for example, he borrows the Adam and Eve figures from Masaccio’s Expulsion from the Garden of Eden (1426–27), and in Field Guides (2003) he creates his own version of the grim reaper. His figures are described anatomically so that their organs and veins are exposed in the manner of a scientific drawing. He writes that his “inquiry into utopia/dystopia – framed by artifice but motivated by the desire for the real – has turned out to be the primary subject of my work”.
Prospect 1, CAC New Orleans, 2008
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
artist. He is best known for his highly detailed paintings on wood panels, combining an array of unorthodox materials suspended in a thick layer of clear, epoxy resin. Tomaselli is represented by the White Cube
White Cube
White Cube is a contemporary art gallery designed by MRJ Rundell & Associates in Hoxton Square in the East End of London Mason's Yard, in central London and White Cube Bermondsey in South East London...
gallery in the UK and the James Cohan Gallery in the USA.
Early life
Tomaselli grew up in Orange, California. He attended and graduated from Orange High School where what he has described as “artificial, immersive, theme park reality” was a normal part of everyday life and the idea of a “contaminated” image – one that is Post-modern in its borrowing from both high and low culture – permeates his work. In 1982, he graduated from California State University, FullertonCalifornia State University, Fullerton
California State University, Fullerton is a public university located in Fullerton, California. It is the largest institution in the CSU System by enrollment, it offers long-distance education and adult-degree programs...
with a B.A. in Painting and Drawing.
Life in 1980's Arts District, Los Angeles, California
After graduating from Cal State Fullerton, Tomaselli moved to a second story flat on Julian St. in the Arts District, Los Angeles, California. He became one of the first artists in the 1980s "Downtown L.A." art scene. He had ties to the growing punk and new wave music community and his drawings were published in SlashSlash (fanzine)
Slash was a punk rock-related fanzine published in the United States from 1977 to 1980.The magazine was a large-format tabloid focused on the Los Angeles punk scene, though it did not restrict itself to local acts: its first cover featured Dave Vanian of The Damned. It regularly covered such L.A....
, an L.A. punk rock magazine. To partially support himself, he worked at a manager at Gorky's Cafe, a restaurant and local artist hangout founded by Judith Markoff (a retired schoolteacher). In the morning, he could usually be seen smoking a cigarette and drinking coffee reading the L.A. Times with his elbows on the table and his hands covering his ears to block out the ambient noise. Tomaselli often dressed in a punk geek-chique style sporting red rimmed plastic glasses, a button down shirt, cardigan sweater and jeans.
The Art of Tomaselli
Tomaselli's paintings include medicinal herbs, prescription pills and hallucinogenic plants alongside images cut from books and magazines: flowers, birds, butterflies, arms, legs and noses, which are combined into dazzling patterns that spread over the surface of the painting like a beautiful virus or growth. He uses an explosion of color and combines it with a basis in art history. His style usually involves collage, painting, and/or glazing. He seals the collages in resin after gluing them down and going over them with different varnishes.Tomaselli sees his paintings and their compendium of data as windows into a surreal, hallucinatory universe. “It is my ultimate aim”, he says, “to seduce and transport the viewer in to space of these pictures while simultaneously revealing the mechanics of that seduction.” Tomaselli has also incorporated allegorical figures into his work – in Untitled (Expulsion) (2000), for example, he borrows the Adam and Eve figures from Masaccio’s Expulsion from the Garden of Eden (1426–27), and in Field Guides (2003) he creates his own version of the grim reaper. His figures are described anatomically so that their organs and veins are exposed in the manner of a scientific drawing. He writes that his “inquiry into utopia/dystopia – framed by artifice but motivated by the desire for the real – has turned out to be the primary subject of my work”.
Album covers
- Tomaselli designed the front cover artwork for Laura CantrellLaura CantrellLaura Cantrell is a country singer-songwriter and DJ from Nashville, Tennessee. She used to present a weekly country and old-time music radio show on WFMU in New Jersey called The Radio Thrift Shop...
's third album 'Humming by the Flowered VineHumming by the Flowered VineHumming by the Flowered Vine is the third album by Laura Cantrell, originally released in 2005. This album was chosen as one of Amazon.com's Top 100 Editor's Picks of 2005...
' on Matador Records. - His painting, 'Gravity In Four Directions', was also used as partial cover artwork for The Magnetic FieldsThe Magnetic FieldsThe Magnetic Fields is the principal creative outlet of singer-songwriter Stephin Merritt...
' album 'i'I (Magnetic Fields album)i is the seventh studio album from the New York-based indie pop band, The Magnetic Fields. Several Magnetic Fields albums feature a strong cohesive theme; the songs of i are connected by their starting with the letter "i", also the tracks are arranged in alphabetical order.Merritt here ditches many...
. - He also has artwork featured in The Wilco Book, a book made by Wilco, the band.
- He also created the artwork for Phish's eleventh studio album, "Joy", which was released September 8, 2009.
Selected solo exhibitions
- Brooklyn Museum (2010)
- White Cube, London (2009)
- The Rose Art Museum, Massachusetts (2005)
- IMMA, Dublin (2005)
- Fruitmarket Gallery, Edinburgh (2004)
- Albright-Knox Gallery of Art, Buffalo, New York (2003)
- White Cube, London (2001)
- Site Santa Fe, New Mexico (2001)
- Palm Beach Institute of Contemporary Art, Florida (2001)
- Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, (1999)
Selected group exhibitions
- Aspen Art Museum (2009)
- ‘Ecstasy’, LA MoCA (2006)
- Whitney Biennial (2004)
- 5th Site Santa Fe Biennial (2004)
- Liverpool Biennial (2002)
- Berlin Biennale (2001)
- ‘Open Ends’, MoMA, New York (2000)
Prospect 1, CAC New Orleans, 2008