Update: Tom Pazderka
Congratulations to Tom Pazderka on the sale of “Picasso” through Santa Barbara’s Glenn Dallas Gallery. About this piece, the artist writes: “Oddly enough, I was never that much into Picasso's work, thinking it was overexposed and overhyped. Doesn't help that I never liked the actual look and aesthetic of cubism in the first place. I get it that it has a place in art history, it's just not my cup of tea. Though I'd take Picasso over Warhol any day of the week. That said, to study up on Picasso, I watched a BBC doc on him just before I painted the picture, and I was actually taken aback a little by the late work he did, just before he died. He worked himself up into a frenzy as if he had shaken off the stifling effects of commercial success and made paintings that finally spoke his version of empathatic truth. Here was the work of a man faced with death and no amount of money or success could change that. Strangely, when the work was presented in an exhibition, the audience either didn't get it or didn't like it, or a combination of both. The work wasn't Picassoesque enough, it broke with a tradition he helped establish and left people in the dark. But to me this seemed that this was precisely when he made the best work, because he shook off the notion of what was expected of him. In other words, Picasso became a stranger for a little while. I'm glad I got to see that side of him and experience him as an artist rather than a monolithic presence in art history.”
Upcoming Exhibition: “Everything is True, Nothing is Permitted”
An exhibition of Tom’s work will be taking place at Bender Gallery in Asheville, North Carolina. The show runs from May 4 through May 31, with a preview reception on May 3 from 5-8 pm. More about the show: “The exhibition is a commentary on the developing mores of the 21st century and the age of cyberspace. It is a play on the more familiar maxim, “Nothing is True, Everything is Permitted” which Pazderka has reversed and given new meaning. Offered in this exhibition are a selection of paintings based on found family photos from the artist’s childhood, images of dictators titled with their original vocations and arresting images of smoke clouds from California wild fires near the artist’s studio. Pazderka works on reclaimed wood panel which he burns and then paints with a mixture of ashes, oil, charcoal and water.” (from press release)
Location: Bender Gallery
29 Biltmore Avenue
Asheville, NC 28801
Mon - Sat 10 - 6
Sun 12 - 5
828.505.8341