Rob Thom’s densely allegorical paintings are keen, satirical observations of contemporary life. The artist brings a particular carnival of American grotesque onto the canvas with wry humor, painstaking observation and deft skill. Touching upon the traditions of painting and art history, including James Ensor’s crowds and Pieter Brueghel’s busy tableaux of peasants, Rob Thom’s compositions vividly capture everyday life and all the banal and absurd vagaries of the human condition.
Rob Thom (b. 1975, Santa Barbara, CA) received his MFA from the University of California, Los Angeles in 2004. His work has been featured in international exhibitions including shows at Peres Projects, Berlin, Germany; Andrea Rosen Gallery, New York; China Art Objects, Los Angeles; Harper’s, New York; Anna Zorina Gallery, New York; Hiromi Yoshii Gallery, Tokyo, Japan and Galerie Julius Hummel, Vienna, Austria. Notable press includes The New York Times, CARLA, and the Los Angeles Times. His work is held in numerous private and public collections including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Rob Thom lives and works in Bainbridge Island, WA.