Fred Tomaselli is a bad ass. He's a famous artist, represented by the White Cube gallery in London and the James Cohan gallery in New York, and his work can be found in major collections around the world. Yet he came to his career by way of the L.A. 1980s punk scene, first publishing his drawings in Slash, the now-defunct fanzine. (He grew up in Southern California.) He's an unlikely candidate for art stardom.

Today, words such as "psychedelic" and "alternative" are still (aptly) attached to his name. His mid-career retrospective opened recently at the Brooklyn Museum of Art--a perfect venue for the longtime Brooklyn resident.The show stretches from his early experimental work to the paintings he's celebrated for--composed of hundreds of found images, including, as any Tomaselli fan knows, prescription pills and hallucinogenic plants. (Oxycotin and Zoloft are just two of his materials.)

These unusual elements, along with images cut from books, seed catalogs, and magazines (flowers, birds, butterflies, and so on) are suspended in a thick layer of clear epoxy resin. His paintings are exquisite and kaleidoscopic. Tomaselli once said that he throws all of his obsessions into his work, and ornithology and botany are two of his major obsessions.

On Friday, November 12th (today!) the self-described "accidental painter" will discuss his work in person at the museum, starting at 2pm. I'll be there! If you can make it, you'll be glad you did.

1 Comments