Kevin Tolman: Second Nature

Nüart Gallery presents, “Second Nature" a solo exhibition of new work by Kevin Tolman. The exhibition will run May 15th through May 31st 2020, with a virtual artist talk on Friday, May 15th from 4:00 - 5:00 pm (MDT).  Please join us on Zoom to hear Kevin Tolman talk about his work.

Click link here to join at the time of the talk: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81594622906?pwd=em5aTXJWamFLZlBrc012d1FWaVlhQT09

Kevin Tolman is known for his earthy abstract paintings reminiscent of the natural world. He works  improvisationally, riffing with materials and techniques. Full of lively markmaking and layers of lush texture, Tolman’s work is influenced by his keen observations of nature both near his home along the Rio Grande in New Mexico, as well as his excursions further afield and his travels around the world. The paintings he creates are both map and vestiges of his observations and creative experimentation.

Kevin Tolman’s paintings in the exhibition “Second Nature,” function as record of the artist’s experiences of the natural and sensory world. “Whenever I’m observing nature,” Tolman writes, “I am not only enjoying it, but often analyzing what it is out there that I find so pleasing or attractive. Which forms, colors, movement, light or relationships are at work to make me think that what I’m perceiving is interesting or beautiful?” While the paintings are not exclusively about nature, nature is integral to the work. The artist intuitively filters his auditory and visual experiences of the world around him into mixed media abstractions. The paintings are like synesthetic accounts of perceptual input turned to melody; maps; connections; percussion-- paintings like poetic vignettes and also immersive sensory experiences.   

Originally from Detroit, Michigan, Kevin Tolman now lives and works from his studio near the Rio Grande in New Mexico. Tolman’s work is exhibited in galleries, museums, and universities across the United States where his paintings are included in a large number of private, corporate, and public collections. His work has also been exhibited internationally in Canada, Mexico, Germany, France, England, and in Portugal.