Thomas Hieronymus Towhey

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
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
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.