Tom Eckert: "Illusions and Deceptions"
Artist Tom Eckert believes that “Covered forms are often more evocative— with a sense of mystery absent from the uncovered object by itself.” In his solo exhibition Illusions and Deceptions currently on view at the Lois Lambert Gallery of Functional Art, Eckert explores the power of concealment, working to activate the imagination through the medium of wooden sculpture.
For Eckert, each of his sculptural works presents a technical challenge that allows him to investigate the structural qualities of wood. By carving the brittle material of wood to appear to be soft cloth, Eckert creates a powerful optical illusion that deceives the eye, and thus prompts the viewer to question their perception of reality and their own worldview. Through manipulating the expressive mediums of wood and paint, Eckert achieves “a sense of the impossible…magic.”
To create his sculptures, Eckert employs a variety of different woodworking techniques (i.e. such as bending, carving, laminating, and turning), working primarily with basswood, lindenwood, and limewood. Eckert paints the wood with waterborne lacquer paint, which he applies using airbrushes, paintbrushes, and spray guns. Eckert’s sculptures are influenced by his training in painting and drawing, as well as his interest in both minimalism and Classicism.
The image of cloth, or forms covered by cloth recurs throughout his work. Eckert’s interest in depicting cloth is rooted in the association of cloth and covered objects with mystery: “By tradition, cloth has been widely used to conceal and shroud objects in practices ranging from advertising, to church rituals, and burials,” he says. This idea of cloth as mystery is visible in such works as his sculpture “Sphaera Operto”, which features an object, obscured by Eckert’s wooden “cloth”, perched on a white wooden ledge. This work confounds the observer, leaving the strange spherical form somewhat unidentifiable beneath the fabric drapery. Here, Eckert is playing with the idea of illusion, and alluding to something just out of reach. “Sphaera Operto” can be translated to “Covered Sphere” in Latin: Eckert uses the ancient language of Latin to name many of his works on view in this exhibition, as Latin functions as a kind of universal language.
Sphaera Operto, basswood, paint, 7” x 9” x 7” x 7”
In his work “Camisole”, a wooden rendering of a woman’s white silk shirt, which is pinned up haphazardly, functions as a metaphor for womanhood and the objectification of femininity. The push pins that appear to hold the camisole up lend the work a specimen-like quality.
Camisole, basswood, paint, 13” x 21” x 3”
Eckert’s piece “Spinam Genere”, which can be translated from Latin to “Thorn Branch” is a visual embodiment of the themes of illusion and deception explored in this exhibition: what appears to be a dark brown thorny branch lies next to a polished white orb and a white cloth, all resting on a white ledge structure. In this work, Eckert juxtaposes the dichotomies of good and evil, natural and unnatural, hard and soft, and light and dark.
Spinam Genere, bleached basswood, paint, 8” x 34” x 9.5”
In his work featuring a bundle of white, hanging fabric entitled “Rags”, Eckert explores the motif of cleaning cloths, thinking of them specifically as objects which are normally discarded as waste. Eckert imbues these “dirty rags” with an ironic spiritual quality in this particular work, subtly referencing the Resurrection of Christ in the way the cloth has been formed. Many of his works in the exhibition reuse the symbol of the dirty rag in different contexts.
Rags, basswood, paint, 22” x 30” x 7”
Through his sculptures in this exhibition, Eckert also tackles such topical societal issues as gun control (i.e. as can be seen in his work “Insidious”, a sculpture of a gun draped in cloth), and even touches on deeply personal issues, such as the old girlfriend that keeps trying to get back into the artist’s life (visible in his work “Hour”, in which a shadowy figure appears to be attempting to escape, from behind a white curtain barrier).
Insidious, basswood, paint, 18” x 38” x 3”
Hour, basswood, paint, 26” x 30” x 1”
Eckert earned his M.F.A from Arizona State University, and pursued advanced studies in art at California State University–Northridge. His work has been exhibited in over 170 exhibitions across the globe, and has been featured in numerous publications both nationally and internationally. His award-winning works are included in many public and private collections, including The Los Angeles County Art Museum (CA), the Museum of Fine Arts (MA), the Racine Art Museum (WI), and the Museum of Arts and Design (NY). Additionally, his work has been commissioned by a multitude of companies including Apple Computer Inc. and McDonald’s Corporation. You can visit Illusions and Deceptions from March 19th, 2022–May 7th, 2022 at the Lois Lambert Gallery of Functional Art, located at 2525 Michigan Avenue, E3, Santa Monica, CA.