Tom Wesselmann
(American, 1931 - 2004)
“Growth is the goal, and that goal is never complete – art must be in constant change.”
— Tom Wesselmann
Celebrated American artist Tom Wesselmann worked in painting, collage, and sculpture and was associated with the Pop Art movement, but did not fully agree with that categorization. He disliked labels in general, and felt that he made an aesthetic use of everyday objects whereas Pop Art made a criticism of them as consumer objects.
Wesselmann was born in Cincinnati, Ohio. He attended Hiram College from 1949 to 1951, and then transferred to the University of Cincinnati where he majored in psychology. In 1952, the US Army drafted him and he first became interested in cartooning and desiring an art-related career. After he was discharged he completed his degree in psychology in 1954. Afterward he took up drawing at the Art Academy of Cincinnati. The prestigious Cooper Union accepted him and he moved to New York. In 1957, Wesselmann met Claire Selley, another Cooper Union student who was to become his friend and model. A Cooper Union’s Green Camp trip to rural New Jersey in 1958 helped him realize he wanted to pursue painting rather than cartooning. He found inspiration not only in his education but also from other artists, such as Willem de Kooning, but was determined to remain independent and find his own unique style. After graduation, Wesselmann along with Marc Ratliff and Jim Dine founded the Judson Gallery. There they exhibited small collages in a two-man exhibition with Ratliff. In addition, he began teaching art at a Brooklyn public school and at the High School of Art and Design.
Wesselmann’s big entrance into the art world began with his series the Great American Nude in 1961. He kept his color palette in the series associated to that of patriotic motifs, such as red, white, blue, and complimentary neutrals such as gold or khaki. After his nude series was completed, he began the Standing Still Life pieces, which magnified boldly colored household objects, such as a toothbrush, to a grand scale on the canvas. The Smokers series also had enlarged subjects, the focus being disembodied hands or lips with curling smoke. The vast majority of Wesselmann’s pieces share that similar style.
Wesselmann held solo shows at The Green Gallery and at the Tanager Gallery. Through these shows, he met various collectors. He held many other exhibitions in the United States and Europe. He married Claire Selley in November of 1963, with whom he would have two daughters and a son. Wesselmann passed away of complications following heart surgery on December 17, 2004.
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