A Quick Bit: Fred Tomaselli

“It is my ultimate aim to seduce and transport the viewer in to space of these pictures while simultaneously revealing the mechanics of that seduction.”

Born in Santa Monica Fred Tomaselli received his BA in painting and drawing from Cal State Fullerton and then started to make a name for himself. By moving into the arts district of downtown Los Angeles he carved a niche as an artist in the new wave era participating in live art installations and the punk rock scene. He used his time to create and work in a local restaurant frequented by other So Cal artists.

His act of imaginative seduction has its roots in his installation art of the 1980s when he started to use his experimental psychedelic past to influence style choices and began to see creations as forms of escapism. Although the 80s were a time for intense consumerist ideals and political rhetoric in the art world he used it as the perfect time to begin crafting a personal Avant Garde style.

Using that Avant Garde path his style choices usually emote hallucinatory patterns through collage stuffs, paint, and resin. In addition to these typical art supplies he is infamous for using marijuana leaves and other drugs as part of his works, which has lead to some international shipping issues. Unlike Damien Hirst he didn’t use pills to create a sculpture but merely used them to juxtapose the other materials on the canvas.

Several bands including Phish for their 2009 ‘Joy’ album have shown interest in his vibrant and eclectic style. Fellow Californians Wilco also used his artwork for their ‘Wilco Book’. Something about this tightrope walk between aesthetic and tongue in cheek drug references seemed to inspire these off beat bands.

As for Fred’s official artist career  he know works out of Brooklyn New York and the James Cohen Gallery in US and White Cube in the United Kingdom represent him. His latest solo exhibit at the Brooklyn museum ended in 2011. Earlier he had been involved in exhibits at the Whitney and at the New York MoMa.

What the future holds for this artist is best through his own words:“Now I find myself in the funny position of being one of those guys who makes pretty pictures, in the context of an art world that’s full of that sort of thing.”