Tom Owen

Slideshow Back to Artists

“I have been making art all of my life. Growing up I had an endless supply of paper, pencils, and paints always at the ready on a small card table in the corner of the living room. In high school, I took over the family garage as my studio. My father could build anything and my mother was a talented seamstress and artist. From them I learned that if something doesn’t work, you learn from it and keep trying. Seriously, what great parents!

What does this have to do with my art? I embrace a “discipline of accident,” using whatever happens on the surface in my process. Making marks and forms I create intuitive, layered abstracts, using a variety of media in my paintings. My art practice is influenced by both abstraction and minimalism, particularly aspects related to nature, identity, and the subconscious. These have power and drive my process.”

Lives and works in Newport, KY

EDUCATION

Post-graduate study in psychology, Harvard Medical School, Cambridge, MA MA, Psychology, Northcentral University, Scottsdale, AZ
BS, English Literature, State of New York University, Excelsior College, Albany, NY

SELECT EXHIBITIONS

2022
Luminosity, Group Exhibition Jen Tough Gallery / Artist Alliance, Sante Fe, NM
New Conversations, Two Person Exhibition, Palette Home Gallery, Richmond, VA

SELECT COLLECTIONS

Pricewaterhouse Coopers, LLP, Cleveland OH
Great American Insurance Group, Cincinnati, OH
VonLehman CPA and Advisory Firm, Ft Wright, KY
Applied Story Telling Brand Environments, Los Angeles, CA
School Outfitters, Cincinnati, OH
Miller Valentine Construction, Cincinnati, OH

“Tom’s work has evolved over time, moving from colorful organic shapes that float on the canvas to more brightly colored minimalistic, geometric shapes and forms that fill the entire space and substrate. His work is inspired by landscape, primarily, that is highly abstracted and distilled down to minimalist forms. His subtle texture and layering mirror his own psychological experiences of the subject, sometimes a glimpse into childhood experiences or into the political realities of current day. Tom’s media has evolved as well. Moving from acrylic to flashe, a highly pigmented water-based paint which he applies using squeegees and a variety of straight edges to pull and scrape large forms onto his cradled wood panels. Within these forms is a subtle interplay of color and movement, inviting the viewer to look closer. The hand of the artist is visible in his work, as opposed to many minimalistic works where the artist’s hand is not present at all.  It’s a characteristic of his current work that makes it so interesting and accessible. The work really stands out in its boldness, simplicity, and how different it is from the typical minimalistic genre.  His paintings have this very subtle and warm interplay of color that really draws you in.”

—Jen Tough, Curator and owner of Jen Tough Gallery