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Tom Birkner - Artists - Paul Thiebaud Gallery

Tom Birkner
Seen at White Castle, 2012
oil on canvas
42 1/4 x 72 5/8 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

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 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.

TB_The_Queen.jpeg

Tom Birkner
The Queen, 2022-2023
oil on canvas over panel
30 x 40 in.

Inquire
Tom Birkner The Goods, 2015 oil on canvas 10 x 35 3/4 in.

Tom Birkner
The Goods, 2015
oil on canvas
10 x 35 3/4 in.

Inquire
Tom Birkner Mesa Street, 2015 oil on canvas 10 3/4 x 36 3/4 in.

Tom Birkner
Mesa Street, 2015
oil on canvas
10 3/4 x 36 3/4 in.

Inquire
Tom Birkner The Goods, 2015 oil on canvas ​​​​​​​10 x 35 3/4 in.

Tom Birkner
The Goods, 2015
oil on canvas
10 x 35 3/4 in.

Inquire
Tom Birkner Desert Rendezvous, 2014 oil on canvas ​​​​​​​8 x 48 in.

Tom Birkner
Desert Rendezvous, 2014
oil on canvas
8 x 48 in.

Inquire
Tom Birkner Seen at White Castle, 2012 oil on canvas  42 1/4 x 72 5/8 in.

Tom Birkner
Seen at White Castle, 2012
oil on canvas
42 1/4 x 72 5/8 in.

Inquire
Tom Birkner Vegas Outskirts (or, The Hose), 2015 oil on canvas ​​​​​​​17 3/4 x 85 in.

Tom Birkner
Vegas Outskirts (or, The Hose), 2015
oil on canvas
17 3/4 x 85 in. 

Inquire
Tom Birkner Cowgirl, 2012 oil on canvas ​​​​​​​14 x 23 in

Tom Birkner
Cowgirl, 2012
oil on canvas
14 x 23 in.

Inquire
Tom Birkner Cocktail Christmas, 2015 oil on canvas ​​​​​​​14 x 61 3/4 in.

Tom Birkner
Cocktail Christmas, 2015
oil on canvas
14 x 61 3/4 in.

Inquire
Tom Birkner Power Station, 2017 oil on canvas ​​​​​​​16 x 20 in.

Tom Birkner
Power Station, 2017
oil on canvas
16 x 20 in.

Inquire
TB_The_Queen.jpeg

Tom Birkner
The Queen, 2022-2023
oil on canvas over panel
30 x 40 in.

Tom Birkner The Goods, 2015 oil on canvas 10 x 35 3/4 in.

Tom Birkner
The Goods, 2015
oil on canvas
10 x 35 3/4 in.

Tom Birkner Mesa Street, 2015 oil on canvas 10 3/4 x 36 3/4 in.

Tom Birkner
Mesa Street, 2015
oil on canvas
10 3/4 x 36 3/4 in.

Tom Birkner The Goods, 2015 oil on canvas ​​​​​​​10 x 35 3/4 in.

Tom Birkner
The Goods, 2015
oil on canvas
10 x 35 3/4 in.

Tom Birkner Desert Rendezvous, 2014 oil on canvas ​​​​​​​8 x 48 in.

Tom Birkner
Desert Rendezvous, 2014
oil on canvas
8 x 48 in.

Tom Birkner Seen at White Castle, 2012 oil on canvas  42 1/4 x 72 5/8 in.

Tom Birkner
Seen at White Castle, 2012
oil on canvas
42 1/4 x 72 5/8 in.

Tom Birkner Vegas Outskirts (or, The Hose), 2015 oil on canvas ​​​​​​​17 3/4 x 85 in.

Tom Birkner
Vegas Outskirts (or, The Hose), 2015
oil on canvas
17 3/4 x 85 in. 

Tom Birkner Cowgirl, 2012 oil on canvas ​​​​​​​14 x 23 in

Tom Birkner
Cowgirl, 2012
oil on canvas
14 x 23 in.

Tom Birkner Cocktail Christmas, 2015 oil on canvas ​​​​​​​14 x 61 3/4 in.

Tom Birkner
Cocktail Christmas, 2015
oil on canvas
14 x 61 3/4 in.

Tom Birkner Power Station, 2017 oil on canvas ​​​​​​​16 x 20 in.

Tom Birkner
Power Station, 2017
oil on canvas
16 x 20 in.