Alignments, an exhibition of recent abstract paintings by renowned New Mexico artist Kevin Tolman, will be on display November 21 through January 16, 2021 at William Campbell Contemporary Art. An opening event will be held on Saturday, November 21, from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The gallery will also offer a 3-D virtual tour of the show, to be available at www.williamcampbellcontemporaryart.com.

In keeping with recommended precautions due to the pandemic, the number of guests inside the gallery at one time is limited, and masks are required.

Alignments will feature a curated collection of Tolman's recent large-scale and moderately sized nonrepresentational paintings inspired by his tangible and spiritual interactions with his immediate environment. "These are abstract works that primarily are influenced by the natural world and are often informed by a sense of place," writes the artist, who frequently spends time outdoors both studying and communing with his surroundings. He also draws inspiration from his travels abroad, and has spent a good deal of time in Portugal, where several of the current paintings materialized.

Tolman's painted surfaces are filled with organic shapes, freeform marks, and swaths of color that float and stretch across the picture plane, the result of a spontaneous creative process in which he lets each composition evolve as he paints. Without a final outcome in mind, he is free to experience the unique journey of each piece as it comes, and in turn, create a visual and emotional space for viewers to forge their own path into the work. "I'm taking a place and creating my own place from it," says Tolman.

Many of his paintings include collage matter, which he takes from peeling posters, newspapers, billboards, or other print media. While these materials add texture and at times a visual anchor, they are also emblematic of the interaction between nature and the constructs of humans. They recall the passing of time, how the months, years, and eras layer on top of one another, first overtaking and later subsumed by what was once at the fore.

Tolman's compositions embody his keen sense of observation as they reflect how his own daily actions move in synch with the often unnoticed cycles of the external world-the rising and setting sun, the changing seasons, migrating animals, plants that blossom and fade. He pays close attention to the changing position of the sun each day, and in fact, built his studio directly on the sun's axis during the winter solstice.

All these things find their way into his paintings as strokes, lines, and drips that rise and fall, emerge and recede like the ongoing, instinctual revolutions constantly at work in nature. Juxtaposed but also interdependent, they work together to create a quiet synergy.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

A native of Detroit who now lives in Albuquerque, Kevin Tolman has been painting professionally for more than five decades. He has exhibited work in galleries, museums, and universities across the United States, in Fort Worth, Dallas, Albuquerque, Santa Fe, and New York. He has shown internationally in Canada, Mexico, Germany, France, England, and Portugal.

Tolman's work has been featured in many publications, including Art in America, THE Magazine, Southwest Art, the Dallas Morning News, and the Albuquerque Journal, among others. It appears in various private and public collections as well, among them the Albuquerque Convention Center, the Albuquerque Museum of Art, the University of New Mexico, the New Mexico State Capitol, Bank One, the HGTV Dream Home 2010, Hyatt Hotels, Mutual of America, Neiman Marcus, Union Pacific, and the Palazzo Resort in Las Vegas.

Kevin Tolman is a graduate of the Art School of the Society of Arts and Crafts in Detroit. In 1990, he spent a year painting in Arraiolos, Portugal, and has returned to the country regularly, most recently completing two artist residencies with Cortex Frontal and the Obras Foundation. He has traveled to and worked throughout Europe, Mexico, and South America as well. Tolman has been represented by William Campbell Contemporary Art since 1978.

ABOUT THE GALLERY

Founded in 1974 by William and Pam Campbell, William Campbell Contemporary Art exhibits high-quality contemporary art in a variety of media, including paintings, works on paper, mixed-media constructions, photography, prints, ceramics, and sculpture. By exhibiting nationally recognized artists, along with new and emerging talent, the gallery aims to nurture an awareness and appreciation of the exciting diversity found in contemporary art.