Tom Birkner
Politician, 2023
acrylic on canvas stretched over panel
30 x 40 in.
The truth is out there, but to matter you have to find it. I found it in the paint on my palette. There, in the semi-wild mixtures of color, a deep resonance between painting and society lay waiting to be discovered.
It all happened because, at the end of the day, my palette often looked more exciting than the painting I'd been working on. So, I started mixing colors directly on canvases and as layers accreted the seemingly random mess began to show its purpose. There, hidden in the paint like the face of Jesus in the Shroud, one could see people en masse. Groups, mobs, crowds, and blobs were One, right there, effortless, like magic.
Truth emerged. The basic act of painting itself brought forth the formations of the mass society we're in - a perfect synonymity showing the faceless fact of mass anonymity. This can be dismissed as mere coincidence, of course. And more could be written. But this truthfulness needs to be seen not read. To that end, the paintings of Mass Abstractions are presented almost as evidence, for you to determine if there's something essential in the way abstract masses of paint form images of us.
"The truth is out there, but to matter you have to find it."
TOM BIRKNER
1966
Born in Rahway, New Jersey
EDUCATION
1997
MFA in Visual Art, The Pennsylvania State University, State College, PA
1993
BA in Visual Art, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2023
Mass Abstractions, Paul Thiebaud Gallery, San Francisco, CA
DemoGraphica, Paul Thiebaud Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Night & Day on Main, Gerald Peters Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
2021
Tom Birkner: Works on View, Gerald Peters Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
LOL!!! Casa Ortiz, Socorro, TX
2020
Little People / Big Picture, Gerald Peters Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
2019
Pintura Cuasi Fotográfica, Centro Cultural de las Fronteras, Juárez, Mexico
The Rain Paintings, Drew University, Korn Gallery, Madison, NJ
2019
Tom Birkner: Trace, Gerald Peters Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
Tom Birkner, El Paso Museum of Art, El Paso, TX
2016
Artists on Art, El Paso Museum of Art, El Paso, TX
2015
Chromatic Fictions, Paul Thiebaud Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2014
Scenes from the Long Drive, Jones Lang La Salle Americas, San Francisco, CA
2011
Little People / Big World, Paul Thiebaud Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2008
Jersey Girls, DFN Gallery, New York, NY
Tom Birkner, Ocean City Art Center, Ocean City, NJ
2007
New York at Night, DFN Gallery, New York, NY
2006
Recent Paintings, Paul Thiebaud Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Tom Birkner: Motorscape, DFN Gallery, New York, NY
2005
Once-Royal Portraits, Marella Arte Contemporanea, Milan, Italy
2004
Jersey World, DFN Gallery, New York, NY
2003
Scenes from the Long Drive, Paul Thiebaud Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Tom Birkner: Paintings, Riverrun Gallery, Lambertville, NJ
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2025
Stories Retold: New American Perspectives, Gerald Peters Contemporary, Santa Fe, NM
2024
CFEVA at 40: Four Decades of Supporting Contemporary Art, Michener Art Museum, Doylestown, PA
2019
Movie Night, Ille Arts, Amagansett, NY
2018
Wheel of Fortune– A Portrait of the World, Joshua Tree Art Gallery, Joshua Tree, CA
2017
Convergence, Gerald Peters Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
JTHAR 2017, Joshua Tree Art Gallery, Joshua Tree, CA
National Weather Biennial, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK
2014
Off Ramp: New Paintings by Tom Birkner and Don Stinson, Gerald Peters Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
2013
Dwellings: Christopher Benson / Tom Birkner, Gerald Peters Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
2012
New Jersey Masters, Keane University Galleries, Union, NJ
Trame, Della Pina Arte Contemporanea, Pietrasanta, Italy
SELECTED TEACHING
2014–present
Associate Professor of Art, Painting, The University of Texas at El Paso, (UTEP) El Paso, TX
2011–2012
Adjunct Prof., Parsons School of Design, The New School, Paris, France
2008–2012
Adjunct Prof., Parsons School of Design, The New School, New York, NY
SELECTED AWARDS
2021
UTEP College of Liberal Arts, Arts and Humanities Career Enhancement Summer Award
2018
El Paso Department of Museums and Cultural Affairs, Artist Incubator Grant
Arts & Humanities Career Enhancement Award, UTEP
2017
Joshua Tree Highlands Artist Residency, Joshua Tree, CA
Rachelle Thiewes Endowment Award, UTEP Department of Art
PUBLICATIONS
2015
Lenihan, Drew. “Tom Birkner and Don Stinson,” visual art source, January 2015. http://www.visualartsource.com/index.php?page=editorial& pcID =26&aID=2594 (accessed March 14, 2015).
2013
McLister, Iris. “Three seemingly disparate atists contribute to Dwellings.” THE, Santa Fe’s Monthly Magazine, August 2013, pg. 54.
Micucci, Dana. “Santa Fe’s Summer Magic.” Art & Antiques Magazine, Summer, pg. 70-84.
2010
New Jersey Masters. Essay by Neil Tetkowski. Union, NJ: Kean University Galleries, 2010.
2009
Major, David. “A New Jersey State of Mind.” Rutgers Magazine, Winter, 2009.
“Art-full Lives.” Princeton Magazine, March, 2009.
2007
Hann, Christopher. New Jersey & the Region. “Around Every Corner, A Glimpse of Artist’s Work.” New York Times. September 30, 2007.
Tom Birkner
World Trade Center Site, 2022-2023
acrylic on canvas stretched over board
30 x 40 in.
Tom Birkner
Vegas Outskirts (or, The Hose), 2015
oil on canvas
17 3/4 x 85 in.
Tom Birkner
Football Fans: Giants/Jets, French Room Blue, 2020
oil on canvas
11 7/8 x 16 in.
