About Thomas
Baltimore City
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Embodied Perspective
My work examines the visual and corporeal understanding of space. As a starting point, I take an uncompromising first-person perspective that forces viewers to see compositional elements as either connected or estranged.
In my paintings I fragment the compositions with body parts, such as nose shadows and arms. These elements obstruct the view, but also orient the viewer within an embodied perspective. The body orients vision in space. And from the interplay between space, sight and body, I paint. Working with dimensions such as wingspan, body height, and hand length, I paint in life-size so that my actions while painting enact bodily movements.
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Headspace2014, acrylic and oil on canvas, 50in x 56in
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Coach Comfort2014, oil on canvas, 56in x 36in
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Bearings2014, oil on linen on wood panel, 36in x 48in
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Table Tennis2014, oil on canvas, 48in x 36in
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Moonhunters2015, oil on canvas, 47.5in x 95in
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Ether2015, acrylic and oil on shaped canvas, 94in x 36in
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Rearview2014, oil and acrylic on canvas, 47in x 47in
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Quarter Turn, Quarter Turn2014, oil on canvas, 22in x 60in
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March Snow2014, acrylic and oil on canvas, 72in x 60in
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Stroll2014, acrylic and oil on canvas, 48in x 60in
Dioramas
I make dioramas with parallactic illusions. Simply put, as you move, their compositions change. Using foamboard, yarn and reflective Mylar, I construct chambered objects and paint their facets with geometric shapes derived from linear perspective. These two-dimensional shapes straddle multiple planes, exposing the slippage between actual space and perspectival illusion. I am interested in this real, but hard to fathom, boundary between the conceptualization of space and our orientation within it.
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Dois Irmãos2016, acrylic, yarn and foamboard, 18in x 24in x 9in
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Untitled2017, acrylic on foamboard, 11in x 24in x 4in
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Wedged2016, acrylic on foamboard, 25in x 22in x 17in
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Asides2016, acrylic on foamboard, 14in x 14in x 5in
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Corridor II2017, acrylic on foamboard, 11in x 24in x 4in
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Vestibule2016, acrylic on foamboard, 14in x 13in x 8in
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Red Shift2016, acrylic, Mylar, cardboard and light, 5in x 12in x 4in
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One-Pointer2016, acrylic, screen, tacks and cardboard, 14in x 12in x 4in
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Impinged2016, acrylic on foamboard, 11in x 24in x 4in
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Noncompete2016, acrylic, yarn and cardboard, 13in x 16.5in x 7.5in
Head Gear
This series is a continued exploration of embodied perspective with particular focus on the bilateral structure of faces, what are worn on them, and how that influences seeing. Work in this body is 2D and 3D and examines both the interior and exterior of the head and the liminal membrane between.
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Vacay2015, oil and acrylic on canvas, 54in x 36in
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Pig Pen2015, oil on canvas, 64in x 94.5in
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Lazy Eye2015, acrylic on cardboard, 14in x 28in x 13in
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AwakeAwake, 2014, acrylic and oil on canvas, 60in x 60in
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Free2015, acrylic and oil on canvas on MDF board, 49in x 20in
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Nose Nose2015, acrylic and oil on shaped canvas diptych, 40in x 36in (as installed)
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Homefry2014, oil on canvas, 47.5in x 47.5in
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Trifocalled2015, oil on canvas, 38in x 60in
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Basker2015, oil and acrylic on canvas on MDF board, 18in x 24in
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Lightheaded2016, acrylic, Mylar, foamboard and cardboard, 21in x 12in x 7.5in