Stuart Shave / Modern Art
presents:
Tom of Finland
Preliminary Drawings

Tom of Finland, Untitled, c.1978, graphite on paper
29.7 x 21 cm 11 3/4 x 8 1/4 ins (MA-FINLT-00001)
Copyright Tom of Finland ® Foundation

Private View: Thursday, July 4, 6:00 - 8:00 PM

Performance by Ariana Reines
Saturday, July 6, 2:00 PM
More Info on TOM's Blog
Space is limited for this event.
RSVP to info@modernart.net

This show is comprised of some 30 figurative pencil drawings dating from the early 1960s to the late 1980s, each made as preparatory studies for the highly finished illustrations of gay visual identity for which Tom of Finland is internationally renowned. It is the first solo exhibition of the artist’s work held in Britain.

Tom of Finland was born Tuoko Laaksonen in Kaarina, Finland, in 1920. He lived and worked in Finland for the majority of his life, travelling frequently to the United States. He died at the age of 71 in Helsinki, Finland.

Tom of Finland’s work has been included in the exhibitions Keep Your Timber Limber, ICA, London (2013); The Collectors, Nordic and Danish Pavilions, 53rd Venice Biennale, Venice, Italy (2009); Compass in Hand, Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY, USA (2009), travelling to IVAM, Valencia, Spain (2010), and Martin-Gropius-Bau, Berlin, Germany (2011); Protest and Survive, Whitechapel Gallery, London (2000); Made in California, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA, USA (2000); The 1991 Whitney Biennial (with Group Material), Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY, USA (1991); and the New Museum, New York, USA (1989).

His work is held in the permanent collections of The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA; Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA, USA; Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York, NY, USA; Kiasma, Museum of Contemporary Art, Helsinki, Finland; and San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, CA, USA.

The Benefits Of Pencil Hard-ons
Review

TOM OF FINLAND

There is little to say of the content – veiny, glutear, wild – which hasn’t been written already, although the delicacy of these preliminary pieces is truly remarkable; the carefulness and the softness is surprising, and delightful in its incongruity. If you feel as though you’d benefit from some close-quarters scrutiny of beautifully rendered pencil hard-ons, it runs until August 10th.

— Complete article by Philippa Snow for ARTslant on TOM's Blog

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