tom o’connor

cv/statement

b. 1993. brisbane, australia.
— lives/works in los angeles, ca.

tom o’connor is a contemporary australian artist who lives and works in los angeles. his artistic practice spans across abstract painting, installation to self-portrait photography. growing up between the beach and the city in sub-tropical queensland strongly influenced his sensibility as an artist. his vivid use of color and expressive forms are a nostalgic marker of his early life. o’connor is an emotional artist who is driven by his need to create and express. 

through a queer lens o’connor constructs depictions of his personal experiences and internal desires, often recalling moments of falling in love to the thrills of attraction and connection; they're figments of nostalgia and daydreams of the future. these human stories and inner feelings manifest in gestural and emotive strokes. o’connor's high school art assignments at the conservative all boys catholic school he attended would often take over entire classrooms and would be as much about the visual work as the reaction. “for senior year i turned my entire classroom and everyone in it into a thundering storm with swaths of black and grey tulle covering the entire ceiling and projections of lighting strikes bouncing off mirrors around the room. i wanted to see how people reacted, how it made them feel.”

in 2023 o’connor staged a solo exhibition titled 'i dream in color' in aspen, colorado. the summer show was held at the historic holden / marolt museum on the side of a 130 year old barn. following this show o’connor unveiled his fall/winter exhibition titled 'float' in los angeles. 

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