Sunblind Pillars, 2010 | Acrylic on canvas, 69 x 44 inches
Included with every edition of New American Paintings are two Noteworthy artists from the competition–one selected by the edition's guest juror and another selected by the magazine–an honor in addition to being selected as a winner. This week we caught up with Texas artist Tommy Fitzpatrick, featured as a Noteworthy artist in Edition #84, whose work for the last several years has been based on the architecture of the cities in which the artist is to be exhibited.
EJG: What are you working on right now in your studio? Tell me about your new work.
TF: Over the last year I've been working on a group of paintings based on buildings in Berlin to be shown in Berlin.
EJG: How do you work in the studio?
TF: I think of the painting process as if it were a job. I work everyday and enjoy the early mornings the best. Music is a big part of the painting experience. I usually work on paintings one at a time and spend close to a month on each one.
Above Ground, 2010 | Acrylic on canvas, 33 x 69 inches
EJG: What is it about architecture that you find intriguing? How do you find that it informs your work?
TF: Working with pre-existing architectural forms, my compositions are searching for a type of balance and intensity that is reflective of current times. The buildings’ windows mirror our world. The structure of the steel grid sets up a constant visual rhythm. The transparency of the glass, along with its reflections and shadows, creates an organic, optical tension as complex as our new global experience.
I try to depict the skin of architecture as flat as possible with the use of acrylic paint and tape. Using this modernist hard edge language, I simulate illusionist space describes in the flattest of means. My paintings are complexity coupled with distortion. I want to present a clear but confusing image of the present - a type of crisis of perception.
Sol Invictus, 2010 | Acrylic on canvas, 50 x 50 inches
EJG: Where have you been to view the buildings you recreate?
TF: Last year I had a show in Seoul, South Korea and the paintings were based on photos I took while visiting Seoul. For the last several years all of my shows have been location specific.
EJG: Do you have any shows lined up in the near future?
TF: I have one person shows in Berlin at Michael Schultz Gallery and Inman Gallery in Houston in 2011.
Western Exposure, 2010 | Acrylic on canvas, 33 x 69 inches
Dynamic Symmetry, 2010 | Acrylic on canvas, 33 x 69 inches
