1980s Tom Bolles Abstract Mixed Media Painting, "Triangles #3 & #4 Attempting to Mate"

Description

Artist: Tom Bolles (1953- )
Title: Triangles #3 & #4 Attempting to Mate
Date: 1987
Medium: Acrylic and sand on … more Artist: Tom Bolles (1953- )
Title: Triangles #3 & #4 Attempting to Mate
Date: 1987
Medium: Acrylic and sand on shaped canvas
Size: 21 x 44.25 inches
Signature: signed, titled, dated on reverse


This work is best described as minimalist abstraction, but that does not quite do it justice. The surface, composed of acrylic and sand on shaped canvas is both highly textured and richly varied in palette. The result is a depth and luminosity that are almost pulsating. The left triangle looks like cooling lava. The right triangle has a pearlescent appearance. The contrast between the two triangles and the fact that they are triangles are both striking compositional statements. The work is a parallelogram composed of two triangles of equal size. It measures 21 inches x 44.25 inches. It is composed of acrylic and sand on canvas. It is signed, titled, dated on the reverse, Tom Bolles, “Triangles #3 & #4 Attempting to Mate”, acrylic & sand / canvas, 21” x 44 ¼”, 1987. The work is in very good condition, with a few very light surface scratches visible only on very, very close inspection.


The well-known artist and art critic DeWitt Cheng described Bolles’ work best in his 2015 essay, “The acrylic paintings of San Franciscan Tom Bolles fit generally within the tradition of minimalist abstraction, but, with their stripes, striations, textures and transparent glazes of vibrant color, they seem not only to possess pictorial depth (through their subtle color variations, not perspective), but also to radiate light. They radiate a force field that draws us in and holds us. Some Bolles work reminds us of the fluorescent light works of Dan Flavin; others suggest the experience of space, light and color that we associate with the installation works of James Turrell.”


EDUCATION:
B.A., University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 1975

LIVES AND WORKS IN MARIN COUNTY, CA



RESUME:

SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2022 Vibrant, Five Walls Gallery, Footscray, Victoria, Australia
2021 Luminous, Andrea Schwartz Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2019 Restless, Andrea Schwartz Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2018 555 California Street Lobby, San Francisco, CA
2017 Reverence, Andrea Schwartz Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2015 Stripes, Andrea Schwartz Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2014 Tom Bolles/Matthew G. Craig, Hooloon Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
2013 Tom Bolles/Andrew Burgess, Andrea Schwartz Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2011 Little People, SFMOMA Artists Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2010 Back to Basics, Braunstein/Quay Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2008 Half of Love & Other Paintings, Caffe Museo, San Francisco, CA
2007 Subliminal, Braunstein/Quay Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2003 Monochromatic, Braunstein/Quay Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2001 New Work, Braunstein/Quay Gallery, San Francisco, CA
SFMOMA Artists Gallery, San Francisco, CA
1998 New Work, Braunstein/Quay Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Andrea Schwartz Gallery, San Francisco, CA
1995 Introductions ‘95, Braunstein/Quay Gallery, San Francisco, CA
SFMOMA Rental Gallery, San Francisco, CA
1993 Artworks with Neon, Sunnyvale Creative Arts Center Gallery, Sunnyvale, CA
1991 Kathryn Sermas Gallery, New York, NY
1990 Geometry on Site, SoHo Center for Visual Artists, New York, NY


GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2021 Summer Exhibition, San Diego Museum of Art Artists Guild juried show
2019 Eggiwegs, Dab Art, Ventura, CA
2018 Electric Salon, Los Angeles Center for Digital Arts, Los Angeles, CA
2017 Bombay Sapphire Artisan Series Finalist exhibition, Scope Miami, FL
2016 Celebrating Ruth, Fouladi Project, San Francisco, CA
ANDLAB Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Burrison Galllery, University of Pennsylvania, PA
2012 Summer in South Park, Andrea Schwartz Gallery Group Show, San Francisco, CA
2010 Philagrafika 2010, Bahdeebahdu Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
2009 Super Flat: Gallery Group Show, Braunstein/Quay Gallery, San Francisco, C
2008 Holiday Special: Gallery Group Show, Braunstein/Quay Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2007 Coming Attractions: Gallery Group Show, Braunstein/Quay Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2004 Suspension, ANDLAB Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2003 Branching Out, Braunstein/Quay Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2002 Arts Council Annual Juried Exhibition, Palm Springs Desert Museum, Palm Springs, CA
1999 New Space - New Work, Braunstein/Quay Gallery, San Francisco, CA
January Juried Exhibition, Gallery Route One, Pt. Reyes, CA
1998 20th Anniversary Show, SFMOMA Rental Gallery, San Francisco, CA
1995 Arts Council Annual Juried Exhibition, Palm Springs Desert Museum, Palm Springs, CA
Countdown 2000, 1078 Gallery, Juried Show, Chico, CA
Andrea Schwartz Gallery, San Francisco, CA
1994 Selections from 1993 Open Studios, SOMAR Gallery, San Francisco, CA
On Canvas, Joanne Chappell Gallery, San Francisco, CA
1993 Lightscapes, Opts Art, San Francisco, CA
New Gallery Artists, Joanne Chappell Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Selections from 1992 Open Studios, SOMAR Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Andrea Schwartz Gallery, San Francisco, CA
1991 Ornithological Structures, A Space, New York, NY
Penn Prints, Arthur Ross Gallery, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA


BIBLIOGRAPHY

French, Michael, “Countdown 2000: Cool, elegant, humorous,” Art Review, Chico Enterprise, Jan. 29, 1995

Cobb, Chris, “Tom Bolles and Alberta Mayo at Braunstein/Quay Gallery,” Reviews, Artweek, June, 2003

Kugelman, Kerry, “Suspension at ANDLAB Gallery,” Review, Coagula Art Journal, Aug. 4, 2004

David Roth, “Square Cylinder”, April 7, 2011,

David Roth, “Square Cylinder”, January 27, 2013,

Dewitt Cheng, “Visual Art Source”, April 2017, less