About TOM’s Work
Over the last five years, Owen’s work has evolved from organic shapes that floated on the surface to more brightly colored, geometric shapes and forms composed primarily of large planes of color that fill the entire space and substrate. His medium is vinyl flashe emulsion, a highly pigmented, permanent water-based paint he applies using squeegees and a variety of straight edges. He is interested in how we see and experience color. Taking his visual cues from urban environments, he pulls and scrapes multiple thin transparent layers onto cradled wood panels or stretched canvases. Within these forms there is a subtle interplay of color and movement, inviting the viewer to look closer.
As Jen Tough, Santa Fe-based curator and owner of Jen Tough Gallery noted, “Tom’s paintings have a subtle and warm interplay of color that draws one in. This thoughtful selection and application of color, a characteristic of his work, makes it interesting and accessible, enabling it to stand out in its boldness and simplicity, differentiating it from the typical minimalistic genre.”
MEET TOM
Tom Owen’s work has been exhibited for over twenty-five years in several US cities including New York, Miami, Santa Fe, Cincinnati, Richmond, Milwaukee, Key West, and the San Francisco Bay Area. It has been featured in several publications (print and online) and is in both private and corporate collections across the United States and Europe.
While primarily self-taught, Owen holds a B.S. in English literature and an M.A. in psychology, both inform his art making. After a 2017 studio visit with Raphaela Platow, Executive Director of Louisville, Kentucky’s Speed Art Museum she commented, “I love that Tom is not afraid to embrace and use color; his paintings are so hopeful.”
Tom and his husband live in their restored Victorian home in Northern Kentucky, just across the Ohio River from Cincinnati, Ohio along with Mavis, an old, deaf and feisty Norwich Terrier and Fanny a sweet, one-eyed Dandie Dinmont Terrier. Tom is happy to hear from anyone who wants to know more about his work.
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS AND AWARDS
2025
“Art of Water IX” Group Exhibition James May Gallery Milwaukee, WI
“Right Now It’s Yellow” Group Exhibition Drawing Rooms Jersey City, NJ
“Perspectives and Unfiolding Discoveries ” Group Exhibition Contemporary Art Chronicle San Francisco, CA and San Miguel de Allende, MEX
2024
“Small Works” Group Exhibition JAG GAllery Key West, FL
“Art of Water VIIII” Group Exhibition James May Gallery Milwaukee, WI
“All About Color” Group Exhibtion Conversations with Artists A curated blog
2023
“Good Will” Group Exhibition Page Bond Gallery Richmond, VA
“The Bright Side” Group Exhibition Jen Tough Gallery Santa Fe, NM
“Pollinate” Group Exhibition Page Bond Gallery Richmond, VA
“Small Works” Group Exhibition James May Gallery Milwaukee, WI
“Small Works” Group Exhibition JAG GAllery Key West, FL
“Small Works” Group Exhibition Jen Tough Gallery / Artist Alliance Santa Fe, NM
“Art of Water VII” Group Exhibition James May Gallery Milwaukee, WI
“Saturation” Group Exhibition 1628 LTD. Cincinnati OH
“Just Add Water” Group Exhibition Peninsula School of Art / Guenzel Gallery Fish Creek, WI
2022
“Emergent Realities and the Fabrication of Now” Group Exhibition Contemporary Art Chronicle San Francisco, CA and San Miguel de Allende, MEX
“Luminosity” Group Exhibition Jen Tough Gallery / Artist Alliance Santa Fe, NM (online due to COVID-19)
“New Conversations” Tom Owen & Janie Pinney: Exhibition of Recent Works Palette Home & Gallery Richmond VA
“Not Quite Seen” Group Exhibition 1628 LTD. Cincinnati OH
ArtExpo Dallas with Jen Tough Gallery Dallas TX
2021
“Jam Session” Group Exhibition Jen Tough Gallery / Artist Alliance Santa Fe, NM (online due to COVID-19)
“Juxtaposing Dimensions” Solo Exhibition Studio Kroner Gallery Cincinnati OH
Pride Pop-Up Solo Exhibition ADC Fine Art Cincinnati OH
"Art Comes Alive" International Group Exhibition (exhibiting since 2012) ADC Fine Art, Cincinnati OH
2020
Invitational Exhibition Group Exhibition by George Billis / George Billis Gallery Art Essex Gallery New York City, NY (online due to COVID-19)
“Natural Worlds” Group Exhibition Jen Tough Gallery / Artist Alliance Santa Fe, NM (online due to COVID-19)
Blink Art Resource Invitational Artist Showcase ADC Fine Art, Cincinnati OH
“Wild World” Gold Medal Exhibition California Art League Los Angeles, CA (online due to COVID 19)
“Rough Around the Edges” Group Exhibition. Jen Tough Gallery / Artist Alliance Santa Fe, NM (online due to COVID-19)
"Art Comes Alive" International Group Exhibition (exhibiting since 2012) ADC Fine Art, Cincinnati OH
“Socially Distanced” Group Exhibition Jen Tough Gallery / Artist Alliance Santa Fe, NM (online due to COVID-19)
“Art of Water IV” Group Exhibition James May Gallery Algoma, WI
47th Annual Winter Juried Show Duxbury Art Association Art Complex Museum Duxbury, MA
Inside/Outside: Small Works Show Jen Tough Gallery, Santa Fe, NM (July, cancelled due to COVID-19)
Grey/Gray Matters, Social Experiment and Exhibition, Divisible Projects and Gallery, Dayton, OH (August)
2019
“Yearning to Breathe Free”, Solo Exhibition, divisible Gallery, Dayton, OH
46th Annual Winter Juried Show Honorable Mention Award Duxbury Art Association Art Complex Museum Duxbury, MA
Artfields, Juried Exhibition of artists from the Southeast United States Lake City, SC Artist Interview
Art Santa Fe, with OPUS Art Collective managed by Jen Tough Gallery, International Group Exhibition Santa Fe, NM
Blink Art Resource Invitational Artist Showcase ADC Fine Art, Cincinnati OH
“Red,” Group Exhibition Arts Illiana Gallery, Terre Haute IN
Abstract Artist of the Year Award, "Art Comes Alive," International Juried Group Exhibition (exhibiting since 2012) ADC Fine Art, Cincinnati OH
2018
"After Dark," Group Exhibition Arts Benicia, Benicia CA
Blink Art Resource Invitational Artist Showcase ADC Fine Art, Cincinnati OH
Georges DuBoeuf Beaujolais Nouveau Label Competition, Finalist
Art Santa Fe, with OPUS Art Collective managed by Jen Tough Gallery, International Group Exhibition Santa Fe, NM
2017
"Guilty Pleasures," Group Exhibition Jen Tough Gallery, Vallejo, CA
Bombay Sapphire Artisan Series Regional Semi-finalist and Online winner
Blink Art / ADC 25th Anniversary Exhibition, Invitational Group Exhibition ADC Fine Art, Cincinnati OH
ArtExpo New York, International Group Exhibition New York City NY
"Contemporaries," Invitational Group Exhibition Greenwich House Galley, Cincinnati OH
2016
Honorable Mention Award, "Pastel 100", International Juried Competition, Pastel Journal
"Black and White," Group Exhibition Pop Revolution Gallery, Mason, OH
2015
SPECTRUM Miami, International Group Exhibition Miami FL
Abstract Artist of the Year Award, "Art Comes Alive" International Juried Exhibition ADC Fine Art, Cincinnati OH
2014
Honorable Mention Award, International Juried Exhibition World Wide Art, Los Angeles CA
2013
Finalist, 30th Annual Art Competition The Artist's Magazine
PARADE, Group Exhibition Carnegie Visual & Performing Arts Center, Covington KY
2008
Solo Exhibition University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati OH
SOS ART 08, Group Exhibition Art Academy of Cincinnati, Cincinnati OH
2005
"Visions IX," International Juried Exhibition The Cathedral Gallery, Covington KY
2004
“Personing,” Solo Exhibition The Cathedral Gallery, Covington KY
2003
“Figures,” Juried Group Exhibition Carnegie Visual & Performing Arts Center, Covington KY
2000
Juried Group Exhibition The Cinergy Foundation, Cincinnati OH
2000
The Big Pig Gig ARTWORKS public art project, Cincinnati OH
ARTICLES, BOOKS, & INTERVIEWS
Curatory Magazine. Volume 1, Issue 1, March 2025, Featured Artist, page 145, https://www.curatorymagazine.com/volume-1
Bond, Page, POLLINATE. Exhibition Catalog, Page Bond Gallery, May 2023. https://issuu.com/pbgallery/docs/pollinate_v.2?fr=sYmVhNzU2MDcyMQ.
Artist Spotlight Look Book:Tom Owen https://issuu.com/pbgallery/docs/owen_lookbook?fr=xKAE9_zU1NQ
Contemporary Art Chronicle. Volume 2 Emergent Realities and the Fabrication of Now. December 2022 https://www.cachronicle.net/volume2
Bond, Page, Good Will II. A Group Exhibition Catalog, Page Bond Gallery, December 2022, https://issuu.com/pbgallery/docs/good_will_ii
MIDWEST GOODNESS: A Chat with Artist Tom Owen. TOUGH ON ART Podcast by Jen Tough Gallery, February 02, 2022, Tom Owen Season 2 Episode 20 https://www.buzzsprout.com/1587283/10001530
Tough, Jen, Wildlands. Profiles of American Mid-career Artists, Jen Tough Gallery, January, 2021 https:www.blurb.com/11023271
Tough, Jen, Identity. Exhibition catalog, Jen Tough Gallery, November, 2020. https://issuu.com/jentoughgallery/docs/identity_online and available on Amazon in November 2020.
Burns, Roberta & Shady, Holly, eds.; ARTFIELDS 2019 “The Exhibition”, 2019, Lake City, SC
Spanos, Litsa, ed., BLINK “Your Art Resource” a juried catalog of professional artists, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015
Cross, Rebecca, “Artist Spotlight: Tom Owen Says Truth Has Power to Scatter Darkness”, SCNow Morning News. May 1, 2019
Spanos, Litsa, Secrets of the Art World. 2017.