November 12- December 11, 2009
Tom Savage works with the delicate balance that painting and drawing share when given varying degrees of emphasis. Like a poet or jazz musician, he starts a painting or drawing with what at first may appear to be formless, only to realize a kind of trigger, or glimpse into his own thoughts and day-to-day experiences. Once that happens, Savage takes the work to a formal stage; shaping the piece into a visual narrative which might include landscape, organic forms, or personal symbols, such as eyes, walls, teeth — references that suggest meaning. He includes all sensory input, but brutally edits while improvising the final visual lyrics. Savage works with acombination of acrylic, oil, and drawing media to lead the viewer into a new place of visual poetics.
The physical and poetic qualities of abstraction is what drives my Savages. Post-war European Automatism and Surrealism, and the powerful influence those movements had on what's now called Abstract Expressionism has influenced his work and attitudes about art. He avoid conceptual cliches, sticks to the 'real' to engage the viewer in a meaningful dialogue.
More information available at tomsavageart.com
