thomas buildmore: Sacred Mountains

at Woodward Gallery

 

Historically, mountains have been significant symbols in our culture. Standing tall and sturdy, mountains are difficult for the average man to climb. Artists long to reach the peak of their own metaphorical mountain, challenging themselves along their creative journey. The ancestral history of many cultures can be introduced to younger generations by simply pointing to “sacred mountains”.

It is in this simple concept that the contemporary artist, Thomas Buildmore, found inspiration for his new body of work: his homage to the great mountains of art history. Buildmore’s work seeks to understand the pinnacles of art culture, which have been passed on for generations.

It is common for Artists to study the ingenious styles others have created before them, advising their own technical practices and visual sensibility. However, Buildmore has chosen to engage deeply into the masterpieces of the past. Buildmore’s current body of work deciphers and translates previous master works through the modern medium of spray paint. Refreshing the subjects through his generous use of color and ease of lines, Buildmore reinvents cultural nostalgia, finding a beautiful way to command the now— a purely transformative contemporary vision. Rather than climbing the ever-reaching mountain that every artist must attempt, Buildmore  choses the sacred status of those artistic heights, and successfully challenges it by offering his mountain to us.

 

The complete exhibition is available online (WoodwardGallery.net), always in the Gallery’s street level windows, and by private appointment.