Fred Tomaselli

Fred Tomaselli was born in Santa Monica, CA in 1956. The artist studied at California State University Fullerton, and currently lives and works in Brooklyn, NY. Tomaselli is a contemporary American painter known for his collaged works created with unconventional materials and depicting surreal scenes. In his detailed paintings and collages you can find a range of unorthodox materials such as medicinal herbs, prescription drugs, hallucinogenic plants, and cuttings from printed material, which he arranges on wood panels with a resin coating. He depicts abstract patterns, human figures, and forms from the natural world into psychedelic visions and mesmerizing patterns. Regarding the use of over-the-counter and controlled pharmaceuticals, street drugs, and hallucinogenic drugs, Tomaselli explains, “these chemical cocktails embedded in the paintings can no longer reach the brain through the bloodstream and must take a different route to altering perception. In my work, they travel to the brain through the eyes.”

Tomaselli describes his work as a “search for transcendence.” The artist states, “art is really about perception and mine have been changed through visiting other realities.” Tomaselli’s work is highly influenced by personal life experiences and the AIDS crisis.

Untitled (bloom)

In his Graphicstudio edition, Untitled (bloom), Tomaselli continues his exploration of photogram-based work with which he has been experimenting since the 90s. The leaves in the backgrounds of the Bloom series come directly from his garden. Tomaselli begins by placing the leaves onto photo paper, exposing them to light and then developing the image. The overlapping leaves reveal white areas that he then begins to paint within to mimic flowers blooming out of the grayscale leaves. As mentioned in 1843 Magazine, Tomaselli explains the photograms are “a necessary corrective to my preoccupation with mass media. They are quiet, personal and informed solely by the shape of nature.” The outcome is a work of art which communicates the idea that the insanities and horrors of the present don’t diminish the beauty of nature existing in the world.

 

Printmaking + Sculpture Terms

Printmaking Glossary

Sculpture Glossary

Sales

For sales, or more information about an edition, please contact Graphicstudio at (813) 974-3503 or gsoffice@usf.edu.

Copyright + Reproduction

Images of the artwork are jointly owned by the artist and Graphicstudio. Reproduction of any kind including electronic media must be expressly approved by Graphicstudio.