A weather balloon floats in the center of the piece as a small fire, obviously man-made is burning to the left. I visited the actual Deception Pass a few years ago and was blown away by the mystery of the place…and I love the name. I knew I would do something with it. A very moody sky with a sun break…almost a feeling of mist.
--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
