A leap year date for the opening reception suits this rare eclipse of an art show...
ELECTRIC BALONEYLAND
& OTHER DITCH DWELLINGS
TOM HÜCK
Verum Ultimum Art Gallery
February 29, 2020 (6-8 PM)
Follow me into the woods...
venture out under inky skies to stand among a forest of goliath woodblock prints. The highly detailed, masterfully executed, provocative large scale works by a living legend will steal your breath and leave you for dead (in the best way).
"I make art about the downfall of society."
Tom Hück
Google the name Tom Hück and your screen will flood with graphic imagery of Hück’s epic prints sporadically laced with faded illustrations from Mark Twain’s Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. This visual quilt marks the heroic yin and yang of visionary artists, the timeless quality imparted that speaks of the past and the future (all at once).
Whether by the pen (of Mark Twain) or the carving knife (of Tom Hück), irreconcilable marks are gouged in our psyche. These marks hold a promise to accumulate within our collective to last far beyond the confines of the artist’s lifespan. Yes, it is safe to predict that Tom Hück's heroic, satirical prints will transcend the moment (or the fashion) and ascend into the stratosphere of all time to mark our time. And that's as it should be. After all, he has something to say and he says it with the skill reminiscent of (only) a handful of masters. He is a spellbinding artist who tears at the gut to expose what we avoid considering. He carries and pushes the legacy of Dürer, Goya, and R.Crumb with every mark.
And Hück’s easy, fun loving, rocker nature betrays a depth of character, fortitude, and vision of an infinite scale. One that is mirrored by the unfathomable, unimaginable stories he tells. Stand in front of any of his woodcut print masterpieces, and you will feel a presence of unmatched proportion. The darker recesses are just the tip of the iceberg of the narrative he weaves and what he accomplishes. This is a driven artist that lives and breathes the work.
One might think Albrecht Dürer and Mark Twain hung a canopy of stars in a black sky of Outlaw Ink to light Hück's way from the beginning.
“Any print of Albrecht Dürer could have been an album cover for Iron Maiden. There’s knights fighting dragons and devils and whores of Babylon and monsters, and all of that’s 13-year-old boy stuff!” Tom Hück
"The most dangerously wonderful art is the stuff that marries technique with concept." Tom Hück
More about TOM HÜCK:
He has exhibited on a national and international level, and he has lectured widely across the U.S. about his work. His woodcut prints are included in numerous public and private collections including: the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; St. Louis Art Museum, MO; Nelson Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO; Milwaukee Art Museum, WI; Daum Museum of Art, Sedalia, MO; Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA; The Art Institute of Chicago, IL; and numerous others. In 2011 Tom Huck was a recipient of a prestigious Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant.
Additionally...
FUN FACTS
Tom illustrated the album for The Roots, 'Phrenology'
"...I was teaching at the time. Somebody from the record company called the school. They saw my work in gallery in LA and called me up. The funny story is the secretary brought me a post-it note that said call MCA Records immediately. I thought, "Oh my god, they fucking got me for downloading music!" I went and deleted all my iTunes that night. I'm paranoid.
Along came the time that I had to call 'em. This designer wanted to talk to me about doing the album cover for the Roots." T.H.
(Note: The Roots' Phrenology went gold and Tom has a gold record on his wall.)
" It's an honor be a part of something that was that big. There's nothing like that association. Some of my favorite art came from records. Derek Riggs. Iron Maiden. Derek Riggs is probably one of the most famous artists in the world. It's just not art world famous, which is a laugh. Who gives a fuck about the art world? My art education came from regular art history and Derek Riggs. He influenced me just as much as Albrecht Dürer, my main hero. Joe Petagno who came up with the Motorhead album covers. Those are in my brain forever. Those are visual icons from my childhood." T.H.
Tom Hück designs limited edition posters
and ephemera for Motorhead
"What beauty is, I know not, though it adheres to many things." Albrecht Durer
Gamblin ink produces Tom Hück’s Outlaw Ink...
And not many artists score a feature in PENTHOUSE Magazine...
Tom Hück was recently featured...
