Tomma Abts: Mainly Drawings
Texts by Bob Nickas, Katy Siegel, and Heidi Zuckerman
German artist Tomma Abts (born 1967) creates her paintings and drawings using a rigorous process that combines the rational with the intuitive. Starting with no external source material and no preconceived idea of the final result, Abts makes complex abstract compositions that ultimately take as their subject the process of their own creation. This publication accompanies her exhibition at the Aspen Art Museum, which is the first to survey the artist\s extensive drawing practice. It features 41 works from 1996 to the present—many never before exhibited—and includes new works created specifically for the exhibition. The catalogue also features essays by Bob Nickas, Katy Siegel and Heidi Zuckerman.
Publisher: Aspen Art Press
Artists: Tomma Abts
Contributors: Bob Nickas, , Heidi Zuckerman Jacobson
Designer: Sara Fowler
Printer: The Avery Group at Shapco Printing Inc., Minneapolis
Publication Date: 2015
Binding: Softcover
Dimensions: 7 1/2 x 10 1/2 in (19.1 x 26.7 cm)
Pages: 108
Reproductions: 60 color
ISBN: 9780934324663
Retail: $35 US & Canada | £23 | €32
Status: Available
Tomma Abts
Tomma Abts makes complex paintings and works on paper whose subject is ultimately the process of their creation. She begins each work with no preconceived composition and idea, and without preliminary sketches. Guided largely by intuition, she nevertheless works within precise parameters. The paintings’ evolution is evidenced by ridges and uneven texture—the result of methodical overpainting and reworking of the image. While abstract, the works are still illusionistic, rendered with sharp attention to shadows, three-dimensional effects, and highlights that defy any single, realistic light source. The resulting canvases convey balance and movement, while maintaining a sense of uncertainty, which seems akin to memory.