Tom Ashbourne
Biography
Canadian sculptor Tom Ashbourne primarily works in stone, using its natural energy and colors to create beautiful contemporary abstract sculptures. Like all exceptional art, Tom’s sculptures communicate meaning through their form and energy. His signature style is sensuous curves, touchable textures, and compelling tension between positive and negative space.
Tom is an Elected Member in Canada’s top professional artist associations: Sculptors Society of Canada (SSC), Society of Canadian Artists (SCA) and Ontario Society of Artists (OSA). He is represented by Amsterdam-Whitney Gallery, New York and Emily Harding Gallery, Toronto.
In 2021, Tom exhibited his sculptures in two of the world’s most respected art exhibitions – the London (UK) and Florence (Italy) Biennales. In 2023 Tom is back at the Florence Biennale.
Tom has received many national and international awards, including ATIM “Top 60 Masters” (2022), American Art Awards “Best Non-Representational Sculptor” (2021 & 2022), DESTIG “Best Artists of 2020", and World Biz Magazine Luxury Collection Guide “Artists to Collect in 2020”.
What’s your background?
My introduction to the world of fine art started with a deep love for the many and varied forms of visual art. This enduring love of art was revealed as I grew into a lifelong collector and art patron. The only artist in my huge family, I found my passion and myself when I transitioned from successful corporate executive to professional artist.
My innate curiosity, rare gift of naturally thinking in 3D, and experiences collecting art over the years enriched and developed my artistic eye, and sense of texture, form, colour and balance. My successes as an artist inspire my creativity and helped to cultivate friendships with artists and patrons around the world.
My entry into the world of professional artists started with interior design classes at Sheridan College, in Canada. I later enrolled in sculpting classes at the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO). As my artistic training merged with my love of art and design, I came to believe that I could become a professional artist. With growing confidence in my artistic capabilities, I thrived under the mentorship of other successful Canadian artists.
Inspired by the stone and other materials I work with, my art continued to evolve as I explored the world around me and experimented with new ideas. My friendships and interactions with other artists enriched my thinking and led to my election to three prestigious artist societies, the Sculptors Society of Canada, the Society of Canadian Artists, and the Ontario Society of Artists. All of this has resulted in greater success, recognition and personal satisfaction than I ever could have imagined.
What does it mean to you to win the Collectors Art Prize?
It is a great honor to receive The Collectors Art Prize. Public recognition of one’s achievements by a pre-eminent and internationally respected organization is the highest praise that can be bestowed on any professional artist.
I hope that the receipt of the Collector’s Art Prize for my sculptures will increase my exposure and inspire confidence in more patrons and jurors to look favourably on my sculptures, and believe they are worthy of their praise, acceptance into a juried exhibition, or an award.
Art is a physical expression of the artist’s emotions and soul, visible to everyone. Like all artists, I need to have confidence in myself as an artist and my artistic abilities to remain inspired, The Collectors Art Prize is a public affirmation for my skills as an artist and says in no uncertain terms that my sculptures are worthy of recognition on the world stage. This award is a huge source of motivation and inspiration. Thank you for that!
What do you think is the role of art in the world today?
Art has been integral to our existence and the human spirit for as long as man has walked the earth. It has, and always will enrich our lives and nurture our souls. Visual arts, performing arts, and music are part of everyday life. Art is the sincerest expression of our imagination and the essence of how we share the fruits of our imagination and communicate our deepest emotions. In doing so, we reveal our true self to each other and ourselves.
Art brings us pleasure and recognizes our pain. Art is whatever we think it is. At the most fundamental level, all forms of art are based on the common principles of composition, balance, energy, and flow. Abstract impressionism, cubism, and digitally manipulated photography were once thought to be as radical as rock-and-roll. By creating art, we tap into the universal desire to interpret the world around us and express it as our own. The ways of creating art may change, but the more art changes the more it remains the same.
What would it be if you could change one thing about the art world?
The one thing that comes immediately to mind is to reduce people’s focus on purchasing art because it may increase in value, instead encouraging them to buy art because they of how it makes them feel. Art that touches their emotions in a way that inspires them, art works that are created by the artist to be appreciated for what and how they communicate their essence.
Art has always been a repository of value and the incredible prices that are realized at auction attract a lot of interest. As a result, it is easy to get caught up in the narrative and be influenced by the perceived investment value of art. However, these opportunities are only relevant for a small segment of the global art market, and a tiny number of living artists. Everyone has a secret dream of hitting it big with their art purchases. If this happens at all, it rarely happens quickly.
The vast majority of art purchases are made by people who have a desire to enrich their surroundings, express their personality and artistic preferences, and align their choices with the image they wish to present. What I’ve learned over many years of collecting art is that artistic value, quality, and appeal are not primarily determined by price. I buy what I like, and I trust my artistic eye. You should too!
What are your most significant professional achievements?
It’s hard to describe how absolutely wonderful it is to receive positive feedback about my work from so many sources – patrons, art lovers, jurors, other professional artists, and with awards from internationally recognized organizations like Contemporary Art Curator Magazine. To date, some of my most significant professional achievements are:
Becoming an Elected Member in three of Canada’s best known and most prestigious art societies:
· Sculptors Society of Canada (SSC)
· Society of Canadian Artists (SCA)
· Ontario Society of Artists (OSA)
Election to each of these societies of professional artists is through a majority vote by the elected Members, essentially a jury of your peers. Members are carefully selected, and the competition is fierce!
I truly value my Memberships, which recognize my skills as an artist, and the quality and consistency of my body of work. Being a stone sculptor is particularly solitary work. Painters can choose to paint together in many different environments, but sculptors are bound to their studios and equipment. So, becoming an Elected Member is like a personal invitation to join a tight knit community of professional artists, which offers friendship, camaraderie, participation in events and group shows, and many opportunities to learn from each other,
2. Being invited to exhibit my sculptures in the Florence (Italy) Biennale and the London (UK) Biennale. These are two of the world’s top juried art exhibitions, essentially the “Olympics” of art. These were my first opportunities to physically exhibit my work outside of Canada, and to see how my art stacks up against many of the best artists internationally.
Being part of the Florence Biennale was incredibly exciting and hugely motivating. Imagine!! … showing my sculptures at one of the world’s top art exhibitions, in Florence , the sculpture capital of the world! I had the amazing opportunity to engage in deep conversations about art and life over a little Prosecco, and time to enjoy this experience to its fullest. A fellow exhibitor, German artist Ulrich Saloga and I had some of the most enlightening conversations about art that I’ve had in years. He talked enthusiastically about how energy is an essential component in exceptional art. He described how my sculptures clearly communicate their energy, and how that energy underlies their uniqueness, form and beauty. Truly inspiring!
I’m thrilled to be invited back to the 2023 Florence Biennale. The theme of this Biennale is “I Am You”. I can’t wait to show Ulrich my sculpture that is aptly named “Ulrich” in homage to him and as thanks for the positive influence he’s had on my work.
What do you wish to tell viewers about your work that might not come out explicitly? What do you hope to inspire with your work?
Simplicity, soft curves, and texture, finding the best of the natural colors and features in the stone, and creating tension between negative and positive spaces are some of the ways I use to shape my sculptures. Many of these attributes are not easy to achieve when working with stone that is billions of years old, or bronze, a hard, metallic substance.
From my perspective, the most important artistic relationship is the one between the sculpture and the viewer, not the one between the art and the artist. By successfully combining the sculpture’s physical features and my imagination, I strive to communicate energy, elegance, and a sense of lightness to inspire an intense emotional response in the viewer.
I believe that a successful sculpture is one in which you see something different in its colour, shape, or composition each time you look at it. I design my sculptures to continually intrigue the viewer, according to how the light falls on it throughout the day, the direction from which you approach it, and which side you’re viewing. Each time they approach one of my sculptures I want the viewer to ask themself “What will I see today?”. “How does it make me feel”?
From a tactical perspective, an aspect of stone sculptures that is widely misunderstood is how easily they can be displayed in anyone’s home. Despite being made of stone, they are not particularly fragile or prohibitively heavy. Most of my sculptures can be displayed on any pieces of furniture that can comfortably hold a large vase of flowers. And they are truly three dimensional, presenting wonderful images on all sides.
What advice would you give to the upcoming generation of artists?
“Be yourself, everyone else is taken”. Have faith in yourself, your skills, abilities, and choices of images you want to create. Keep your desire to create art firmly at the center of your being. This defines who you are and is where your passion lies. Try not to lose sight of this pathway on your life journey.
Experiment, have fun, switch it up if you hit a mental roadblock, and don’t forget to look back at the wonderful art you’ve already created. It will motivate and inspire your future work. Don’t cut corners and compromise on the quality and finishing to speed up production. Your patrons will notice, and not in a good way.
Work hard at promoting yourself. Galleries provide access to patrons, but you are best served by taking responsibility for promoting your art and work, and collaborating with the galleries that carry it. The time that you invest in social media is an open door for opportunities to present your work and promote yourself. Have the confidence to submit your work to art shows, and don’t be discouraged if you’re not always successful. The jurors are expected to curate a cohesive show, and your work isn’t always going to be the right fit.
In what direction would you like to see your career to go in the next five years?
I’d like to have more exposure for my work in the U.S. and Europe, two of the biggest markets for contemporary art. I also wish to keep broadening my forms of artistic expression, and reaching for ever- higher levels of sophistication in my art. And, like most sculptors, I want to create larger-scale sculptures and experiment with new materials.
The pandemic opened my eyes to the power of the internet and the value of online opportunities to present my sculptures. The connected world is an open door for art lovers to see lots of art so they can make informed decisions about which art they want to experience first-hand. I’m so happy that in-person interactions and art shows have returned to our lives.
I’m enjoying talking with art lovers and patrons and spending more time with other artists, rekindling friendships and making new ones and sharing our love of art.
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Website www.tomashbourne.com
