Tom Mason
01 Dec 2007 - 12 Jan 2008
TOM MASON
This is an artist who, like the rest of us, has a huge arsenal of fragmented images, quotes, characters and ideas at his fingertips- but in his case one imagines decades worth of snippets, in the drawers and flickering through the neural pathways, all ready to be tweaked by Tom. He seems to have a peculiarly British sensibility, and, for a male artist working in this genre, there is a refreshing lack of emphasis on teenagey stuff. That aside, his work fills me with glee (with envy following hot on its heels) because of the way in which he uses this weaponry so sparingly. It is dizzyingly simple with devastating effect. This is an artist with command of an acerbic wit, but he never comes accross as a meany or a cynic. He uses a tender line to circumscribe his characters, in fact he casts a tender eye over all the proceedings, so his work never resorts to merely being goofy. These clippings from his life's project make me want to be his pal. (Lucy Stein)
Tom Mason (1976, Harrogate) currently divides his time between Berlin and London and will be present for the opening. He has been active on the margins of fine art, self-publishing, and collaborative practices since graduating eight years ago. During a period in Amsterdam he co-organised the Shop Furiosa arts space. He has exhibitied in Amsterdam, London, Berlin and Vancouver as well as being featured in various publishing fairs.
This is an artist who, like the rest of us, has a huge arsenal of fragmented images, quotes, characters and ideas at his fingertips- but in his case one imagines decades worth of snippets, in the drawers and flickering through the neural pathways, all ready to be tweaked by Tom. He seems to have a peculiarly British sensibility, and, for a male artist working in this genre, there is a refreshing lack of emphasis on teenagey stuff. That aside, his work fills me with glee (with envy following hot on its heels) because of the way in which he uses this weaponry so sparingly. It is dizzyingly simple with devastating effect. This is an artist with command of an acerbic wit, but he never comes accross as a meany or a cynic. He uses a tender line to circumscribe his characters, in fact he casts a tender eye over all the proceedings, so his work never resorts to merely being goofy. These clippings from his life's project make me want to be his pal. (Lucy Stein)
Tom Mason (1976, Harrogate) currently divides his time between Berlin and London and will be present for the opening. He has been active on the margins of fine art, self-publishing, and collaborative practices since graduating eight years ago. During a period in Amsterdam he co-organised the Shop Furiosa arts space. He has exhibitied in Amsterdam, London, Berlin and Vancouver as well as being featured in various publishing fairs.