Tom Allen

7 May-20 Jun 2021

Overview

For his debut presentation in The Annexe, and his first solo exhibition in London, Tom Allen will show new works from his ongoing series of flower paintings. Using a palette rich with fluorescent, iridescent and metallic colours, Allen draws out the most exuberant qualities of his flower subjects, but then adds more, making surfaces that flash and glimmer. Taking inspiration from the exotic plants that grow in and around his local area in Los Angeles, nearby botanical gardens, and from his travels, Allen first photographs his flowers uncut, in their natural environment. He then returns to the studio to paint his vivacious likenesses in luminous cadmium pigments. These are not still lives, but rather preternatural portraits intended to capture the true spirit or animating principle of the subjects he depicts. Tom Allen (b. 1975, Springfield, Massachusetts) lives and works in Los Angeles, USA. Recent exhibitions include: Praeternatura, Air de Paris, Paris, France (2020); Là-bas, Lulu, Mexico City, Mexico; Blue Flowers, Le Maximum, Venice, CA; Dreamhouse vs. Punkhouse, Serious Topics, Inglewood, CA (all 2019); The Lovers, Bel Ami, Los Angeles, CA; Symbolisms, Cooper Cole, Toronto; Witch-Ikon, Mortlake & Company, Seattle, OR; Therianthropy, Laura Bartlett Gallery, London, UK; Ruins In the Snow, High Art, Paris (all 2017); A Change of Heart, Hannah Hoffman Gallery, Los Angeles; Outside, MiM Gallery, Los Angeles, CA (2016). His work can be found in the permanent collection of the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, the Sweeney Gallery at the University of California, Riverside, and in numerous private collections.