Realist Art: Sherry French Gallery - Contemporary American Representational Painting and Sculpture

"Tom Ouellette is a contemporary realist. He uses the classic artistic techniques perfected by masters such as Rembrant, Caravaggio, and John Singer Sargent to provide a fresh and exciting perspective on contemporary subjects. In Tom's paintings, the subject is frequently technology, and his studies of light bulbs, kitchen appliances, and tableware reveal the beauty and elegance that may be found in even the most mundane objects of the 21st century. "We often don't realize how beautiful functional objects around us are, at least not until they become antiques," says Tom. "My goal is to reveal that beauty in a way that delights and surprises the viewer." He is particularly adept at capturing such difficult surfaces and textures as silver, plastic, and cellophane. In April 2002, Tom relocated his studio to the historic Fenway Studios building, a National Historic Landmark hat was the fist building in America designed for use by artists. Built in 1905 in the Arts & Crafts style, it has housed the studios of Edmund Tarbell, William Patterson, and Lila Cabot Perry. "The high ceilings and north facing windows are a painter's dream," Tom says. Tom is the recipient of many grants and awards, including a John F. and Anna Lee Stacey Scholarship, the 1997 Richard and Mary Schroeder Award for a Portraiture, a 1995 Sagendorph Award, and the 1996 John Singleton Copley Award from the Copley Society of Boston. His work has been published in the Artists' Magazine, and exhibited in the 66th Grand National Exhibition of the American Artists Professional League in New York City. He also exhibits regularly at the National Exhibition of Contemporary Realism in Art in Springfield, MA, and has shown his work in galleries in New York, New England and Tokyo. A native of Cambridge, Mass., Tom holds a B.A. in art history from Harvard University, and has also studies at the Art Institute of Boston, from which he graduated with honors. From 1989-1994, he studied with Michael Aviano, and from 1990-1993 served as Mr. Aviano's assistant in his figure painting class."

Tom Ouellette