RICH TOMASELLO

Rich Tomasello is from Buffalo, New York.  He earned a BFA in Illustration from the University at Buffalo and an MA in Art Education from Buffalo State University. He is currently an MFA candidate in Studio Art at the University at Buffalo.  Tomasello has had work commissioned by the New York State Council on the Arts and is a 2021 NYSCA DEC grant recipient.  His mixed-media work has been featured on The Huffington Post and is part of the permanent collection of the Burchfield Penney Art Center (Buffalo, NY). He has exhibited at the Arnot Art Museum (Elmira, NY), Erie Art Museum (Erie, PA), and the Memorial Art Gallery (Rochester, NY).  Tomasello has also exhibited his work, by invitation, at a series of politically themed art exhibitions that took place at the Pasadena Convention Center in Pasadena, CA, the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, PA, and Into Action in downtown Los Angeles, CA.  His work has been exhibited alongside Robert Longo, Swoon, Shepard Fairey, and Guerrilla Girls.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

My mixed media work is influenced by the violence and voyeurism of the world. Cellphone technology has allowed us to capture and share violence in real time, as gun violence and mass shootings in school settings have become commonplace in the United States. Much of my work is told through the lens of my experience as both an educator and a father for over twenty years, thereby giving a voice to and shedding light on the loss of innocence experienced by children today.

The impetus for my art is a traumatic event that I suffered; many years ago, I was jumped by six guys in a bar the night before my college graduation. I had just read the play Rhinoceros by Eugene Ionesco, which discusses themes of conformity, the rise of Fascism before WWII, and mob mentality. My attackers became Rhinoceroses that day. Since then, I’ve been creating art that tries to address and overcome both my trauma and the traumas of contemporary society.

I use materials in my work that allow me to achieve my vision, this has included: charcoal, ink, ceramics, plaster, foam, cardboard, wood, brick, concrete, plastics, found objects, and 3D printing. While the materials may change, the themes and context of my work continues on a familiar yet growing and experimental path.

Much of my work depicts oppressive icons, but at its core, these figures yearn for a more innocent past and a hopeful future.