by Tom Post
Dimensions: 35″ x 35″
Media: Oil on Canvas
For more information: 517-999-1061
Inspiration for Gravity
This current body of work is a visual response to my last group of paintings, which dealt
with the idea of common objects that attain an elevated status through the basic desire to possess them. These banal objects were painted as if they were portraits, specifically portraits of celebrities and socialites, with palettes that were referential to Andy Warhol’s celebrity images.
My new paintings are portraits as objects (or objectifications), specifically people from the realm of the visual and performing arts that have been influential to me. There are depictions of writers and musicians, poets and painters, sometimes people who cross all of these disciplinary borders. The painting in this exhibition; “gravity” is a portrait of the writer and poet Jim Carroll (who also had a brief music career). He was championed in the counter cultural realms for his acute, sometimes funny and often graphic observations. Mr. Carroll lived and worked in New York City.
My intent is that there remains a certain ambiguity to these paintings, and that the viewer is left to regard the formal qualities of the piece; and maybe to ponder the identity and intent of the subject.
Artist’s Biography
Tom has exhibited his paintings throughout the West Michigan area in both group and solo shows, including the Kalamazoo Institute of Art, Byrne Boehm Gallery and Noir Contemporary Fine Art Gallery in Grand Rapids, the Muskegon Museum of Art, the Gainey Gallery in the Van Singel Fine Arts Center in Byron Center, MetroSpace Gallery in East Lansing and the Rankin Center Fine Arts Gallery in Big Rapids. Mr. Post also participated in ArtPrize 2010. In addition, Tom has been a recipient of numerous awards and honors, including the Studio Excellence Award for undergraduate work at Kendall College of Art and Design in Grand Rapids and placement in the
Art in Legislature program, with works representing Kendall College of Art and Design of Ferris State University installed in both the Michigan House of Representatives and the Michigan Senate. His work was also selected by former Governor Jennifer Granholm for placement in the Governor’s residence in Lansing, Michigan. Mr. Post was awarded a full time teaching position in the Painting Department at Kendall College of Art
and Design of Ferris State University in 2009. Tom was born in Grand Rapids and has a Master of Fine Arts Degree in Painting. He is an active artist, active within the art community, and active within the local community.
