BIOGRAPHY
Tom Farnam is a disciplined painter who approaches each new work with a leap of faith and an abundance of energy. He achieves such striking works through a unique process of layering and weaving linear strokes and patterns of color. Through this process, we are shown Farnam’s complex inner dialogue and his reflection on the world around him.
Growing up in Columbus, Indiana, Tom Farnam spent his early years in the 1950’s and 60’s observing and drawing from nature. The interlacing layers of tree branches, and the complex patterns of lichens and moss, remained in his psyche and influenced his linear approach to art making as he continued to pursue his career as an artist.
Farnam studied printmaking at Indiana University and East Texas State University, where he received his BFA and MFA respectively. His natural inclination towards process, discipline, and technique made printmaking a natural medium for Farnam to develop his visual vocabulary. Nevertheless, his exploration of printmaking not only encouraged, but required him to leave things to chance and explore “mistakes”. This experimental methodology remains critical to Farnam’s aesthetic throughout his work.
Transitioning into painting was an organic choice as Farnam left the academic environment and printing presses essential to printmaking. For the past four decades, he has continued to build on the basic influences that fueled his passion for making art. Additionally, he developed carpentry and fine woodworking skills that provided the necessary income for raising a family. While fine woodworking became a means of expression as well as a source of income, the process of painting remains the constant rhythm of his life.
Farnam’s body of work reflects an independent mind and soul. His intense devotion to the craft blends years of mastery with a profound understanding of his physical surroundings, art history, and modern culture. This synthesis is ultimately revealed in the captivating relationship of color and markings that one experiences while viewing his paintings.
SELECTED WORKS
SELECTED EXHIBITS AND ACQUISITIONS
The scale, style, and aesthetic of Tom Farnam’s paintings lend themselves not only to fine art galleries but also to residential and commercial settings. Having created art for over four decades, Farnam’s work offers a wide range of expressions and moods that will garner attention and praise wherever it resides.
Farnam’s work can be found in the permanent art collections of the Opryland Hotel in Nashville, and The Edwin Hotel in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
Through decades of working as an artist, Farnam’s persistence and consistency has been the hallmark of
Installation view of Tom Farnam's oil painting at The Edwin Hotel
his paintings and prints. Repetition and control are balanced by vigorous, physical movements and opportunities for chance through thrown and poured applications of paint. The painting ritual is savored, modified and experienced as a dance with life.
Farnam’s working practice has resulted in a slow but steady growth of imagery over four decades. His work develops organically, changes over time. He has a serial approach, where groups of paintings share a familiar palette and energy level, then, naturally, begin to deviate until a new series with its own set of characteristics becomes evident.
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS 1974 - 2023
One Person Exhibitions
Jewish Cultural Center, Chattanooga, Tennessee 2023
Hunter Museum of American Art , Chattanooga, Tennessee 2000
East Texas State University, Commerce, Texas 1976
The Factory Show, Bloomington, Indiana 1977
Indiana University Art Gallery, Bloomington, Indiana 1976
Columbus Invitational, Columbus, Indiana 1976
Group Exhibitions
Hunter Museum of American Art - Spectrum Exhibit and Auction, Chattanooga, Tennessee 1994
Courthouse Show, New Orleans, Louisiana 1982
Mountainville College Gallery, Dallas, Texas 1978
Paris Exhibition, Paris, Texas 1978
Commerce Art Gallery, Commerce, Texas 1978
Works on Paper, Chicago, Illinois 1978
Intervalley Print and Drawing Show, New Albany, Indiana 1974
Tom Farnam’s artwork is currently in private collections throughout the United States.
For further interest in purchasing artwork as an individual collector or corporation, or to view works directly, please contact Tom and arrangements may be made to do so.