Artist Statement

My work addresses issues of history and identity through use of images of whimsy and dread among spontaneous and planned acts of making.  Superhero dolls, army “guys,” TV stills, post-it notes, peeps, and board game pieces are combined with targets, danger signs, atomic bomb explosions, optical illusions, organizational theory diagrams, and germs.  My work explores process by investigating the intersections between the surface’s history and the relative concept of “study.”  Depictions of spaces have “serious” historical references to specific artists while the subject matter includes “fun” images of toys from my childhood.  These combine grand themes from art with the sometimes playful, sometimes scary, sometimes perplexing themes that form experience of personal identity and history.

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Bio

Tom Richard (born 1966, in Houma, LA) is a Professor of Art at the University of Arkansas at Monticello.  His two dimensional mixed media studio practice addresses issues of history and identity as well as the making of history and identity by incorporating specific historical references, planned acts of painting, and spontaneous processes.

His work has been included in over 100 national juried and invitational exhibitions including the Heroes exhibition at Central Michigan University, After School Special exhibition at the University Art Museum in Albany, NY, the Delta Exhibition at the Arkansas Arts Center, and the Arkansas Arts Council’s Small Works on Paper Exhibition.  He has had over 50 solo exhibitions at venues including the Arkansas Arts Center, the Historic Arkansas Museum, the Baton Rouge Gallery and Center for Contemporary Art, and numerous museums, art centers, and galleries throughout the United States.