I was working on three separate canvases and placed them next to each other. I liked the way they looked together. After the “place” or stage was defined, I had the notion of building monuments that were very minimal…the opposite of what the word normally implies. This is now a series called “Temporary Monuments” in which odd structures or objects out of context take on a new life. The Goldfinch in the upper right happened at the end, after I had created a perch for an imaginary bird in the right panel.
--Tom Gehrig
Tom Gehrig (b. 1948, Oakland, California) is a Bay Area artist whose compositions bear the intention to set a surreal stage for personal, site-specific happenings. In his work, odd structures, formulas and information technologies are integrated into the landscape—or juxtaposed with it—to become an integral whole. The works are often surrounded by a mixed media background that could include mathematics, maps, bits of sentences, poems and other miscellanea. An unusual dichotomy takes place between the theater that is happening within the canvas and the sea of information that it floats upon.
Tom received a B.A. (1971) at the California College of the Arts where he studied painting with Arthur Okamura, Peter Shoemaker and Robert Bechtle. He received an M.F.A. (1973) in Intermedia at Mills College, where he worked closely with electronic music composer Robert Ashley. Tom is the recent recipient of the Individual Artists Grant from the Marin Arts Council. His work is collected nationally and is represented by D'Adamo-Woltz Gallery in Seattle, WA and Gallatin River Gallery in Big Sky, Montana.
Visit Tom Gehrig's website at: www.tomgehrig.com
