About Thomas Hieronymus Towhey

 

Education

 

Art Academy of Cincinnati, 1978

University of Cincinnati, 1979

 

Experience

 

Gibson Greeting Card Company, 1980-1984

Free Lance Artist, Tempe, AZ, and Scottsdale, AZ, 1984-1985

Maintraum Art Group, Founder, 1984-present

Full time artist 1985-present

Art Instructor, YMCA Outreach Programs, 2000 and 2002

Volunteer Art Instructor, St. Rita School for the Deaf, 2002-2004

 

Gallery Representation and Exhibits

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Caza Sikes Gallery, Cincinnati OH, Wild Tales, February 7th 2020

Magdalena Gallery, Carmel IND, Solo Show, July 1st 2019

Indian hill Gallery ,Cincinnati OH, (forming) SPACE, May 10th 2019 

Wash Park Gallery, OTR Cincinnati OH, VIRTUOSITY, July -September 2018

Pike Street Gallery , Convention KY. Group Show , December 2017

Shakespeare Theater Gallery, O.T.R. Cincinnati, OH. solo exhibit September -December 2017

A.R.T. Art Resource Team, Wyoming OH." Chromatic ~ Aberrations", Two Person Show October -December 2017

Washington Park Gallery, OTR, Cincinnati, OH, "Resolutions 1. More Art", group exhibit, January 2017

Art Academy of Cincinnati, "S.O.S. Art Peace & Justice" , 2017 ,O.T.R. Cincinnati, OH. 2017

Xavier University Art Gallery, Cincinnati, OH. " For a Better World " group show, August 2017

Thunder Sky Gallery, Northside Cincinnati, OH, 2016

Greg Storer Gallery, Mason, OH, 2014

Muse Gallery, Columbus, OH, 2014

Malton Gallery, Cincinnati, OH, 2013

Dan Biggs Gallery, Cincinnati, OH, group exhibit, 2012, 2013
Artisan Enterprise Center, Covington, KY, “The Human Face: a Revelation”, group exhibit, September, 2013

The Carnegie Arts Center, Covington, KY, “The Food Show”, group exhibit, 2013

Studio 209 Gallery, Cincinnati, OH, “The End of Times”, three artist exhibit, November 17, 2012

Wombat Studio, Elsmere, KY, “Homage to Sybil, the Many Faces of T2E”, solo exhibit,

October 22, 2011

A.R.T., Cincinnati, OH, “New Paintings”, solo exhibit, July 15, 2011

Greenwich House Gallery, Cincinnati, OH, “DUO: A Reading from the Book of Hans”,  two artist exhibit, December 2-January 1, 2011

Cincinnati Museum Center John A. Ruthven Exhibit Gallery, “Form from Form: Art from  Discovery”, group exhibit, January 22-March 13, 2011

MBR Studio, Cincinnati, OH, “Worlds of Wonder and Whimsy”, three artist exhibit, July 15-August 15, 2010

Philip M. Meyers Jr. Memorial Gallery, University of Cincinnati, “Form from Form: Art  from Discovery”, group exhibit, October 29-December 11, 2009

Magdalena Gallery of Art, Carmel, IN, solo exhibits, September 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 2015,

Magdalena Gallery of Art, two artist exhibit, October 16, 2009

Magdalena Gallery of Art, group exhibit, April 18, 2009

Dicere Gallery, Cincinnati, OH 2005, 2006, 2007

Sandra Small Gallery, Covington, KY, solo exhibit, 2008

The Carnegie Arts Center, Covington, KY, “All Mixed Up”, solo exhibit, April 18-May 23 , 2008

Miller Gallery, Cincinnati, OH, “Local Color”, solo exhibit, April 2008
Pendleton Community Center, Cincinnati, OH, “Ohio Riverscapes”, group exhibit, October 2008

M. Willis Fine Art and Design, Cincinnati, OH, “The Rhythm of Mischief”, solo exhibit,  April 13-May 12, 2007

Atlanta Art Expo, Atlanta Convention Center, Atlanta GA, 2006

Art EXPO, Javits Center, New York, NY, 2006

"S0S'' group exhibit, Art Academy of Cincinnati and various sites 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012

Elk Creek Winery, Owenton, KY, solo sculpture, exhibited 2007-2010

The Big Pig Gig, Cincinnati, OH, group exhibit, 2000

Andrew Vincent Galleries, Queensland, Australia, group exhibit, “Maintraum, USA”, 1996

Springfield Museum of Art, Springfield, OH, “Approaching the Unconscious”, group exhibit (Maintraum), May 1995

The Carnegie Arts Center, Covington, KY, “Sharp Pencils, No Credentials”, 1993

Sharon Cook Gallery, Cincinnati, OH, “Tea for Towhey”, solo exhibit,1992

 

 

 

 

Presentations

 

 

Greenwich House Gallery, Cincinnati, OH, artist’s talk, 2011

The Taft Museum of Art, Robert Duncanson Society, Cincinnati, OH, invited speaker for   “Art in the Afternoon” April 5, 2009

Clark State University, Springfield, OH, invited speaker with the Maintraum Group,  “Collaboration Pros and Cons” 1986
University of Cincinnati, College of Design, Architecture and Art, Cincinnati, OH,  invited speaker, “Towhey on Towhey”, 1985

 

 

Awards

 

 

Art Comes Alive, Lifetime Achievement  Award, June 2012

Taft Museum of Art, Robert Duncanson Society, Cincinnati, OH, “Twenty Men and a Tabletop”, Second Place, 2007

Capital Expo Arts and Crafts, Third Place, 2003

 

 

Public Collections

 

Proctor & Gamble, Cincinnati, Oh

Eli Lily, Indianapolis ,  IN

Cincinnati Bell , Cincinnati, OH

Mercy Hospital, Cincinnati, OH

Verden Bell Company, Cincinnati, OH

Corbett Opera Center , Cincinnati, OH

Vernon Manor Hotel, Cincinnati, OH

The Greater Cincinnati YMCA , Cincinnati, OH

University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH

Anthem , Cincinnati, OH

The Bank of Panama, Panama City , Panama

The Bank of America,Cincinnati, OH 

Children's Hospital, Cincinnati, OH 

 

 

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Artist Statement:

 

For as long as I can remember, I have been creating in one form or another. I have always been intrigued by the psychological affect color, shape and space can have on the human mind. I am primarily a self-taught artist. I use the term self-taught loosely because I have, in fact, learned a great deal from other artists and people in many disciplines. Still, I think an artist must recognize his or her personal muse and have the nerve to follow it where ever it leads. I have come to understand creativity as a process void of ego, immersed in emotion and fueled by compulsion. Over time, the act of creating becomes as necessary as oxygen to an artist immersed in his or her work. I believe an artist must have the freedom to live in a fashion that enables full expression of his or her artistic vision. Solitude is my refuge, for I feel connected to something beyond the three dimensional world when I work. I know I am in my place, grounded in my work. I work on several paintings at a time. . . Almost all my paintings come from my own imagination. I rarely start a painting with a preconceived notion; however, on those occasions when I do, the original idea usually gives way to the act of painting as it opens new doors of perception.. During the creative process, much of the original work is destroyed in the process of reaching for a more accomplished painting. I consider a painting successful when it strikes a chord or triggers a response with a viewer, maybe touching a memory of the past or perhaps prompting a dream of the future. There is always more than meets the eye in my paintings. I have developed techniques using layers of transparent paint to create a subtext within a painting. Images reveal themselves to the viewer after time is spent looking at the painting. In one instance, I was phoned by a collector, who five years earlier had acquired one of my paintings.She was

delighted to have just discovered a leprechaun in the lower left hand portion of her painting and hoped to find more surprises.  

 

Biography :

 

Thomas Hieronymus Towhey was born in 1958 in Cincinnati, Ohio.  While he studied briefly at the Art Academy of Cincinnati and the University of Cincinnati, he is primarily a self-taught artist.  He is a founding member of the Maintraum Art Group.  Towhey was instrumental in developing after school art programs for the Cincinnati YMCA which included outreach programs for Children’s Hospital Medical Center.  He also served as a voluntary art teacher for Cincinnati’s St. Rita’s School for the Deaf.  He moved his studio to Sante Fe, New Mexico, for a period in 2006.  Currently, Towhey lives and paints in Cincinnati.  His work has been represented by numerous galleries and is part of many public and private collections.