Skull X Painting

Tom Shelley Agaster is a visual artist whose work conceptualizes an artist’s life experiences and perceptions as an object of art itself. Strongly influenced by Japanese visual aesthetics, European & American realism, and impressionism, and the vibrant colors of '60s & ‘70s pop art; Tom has worked in mixed media, drawing, photography and oil on canvas until 2011 when he began working digitally. This new medium has been leveraged to great effect in Tom’s recent work which utilizes pixelation and other digital print techniques which add a heightened level of detail— perceptible on prints only at close range, introducing an intimate scope to the viewers of his work. By depicting reality through overemphasis, independent elements of a piece receive heightened color and expression Repetition intensifies the focal aspects of each piece, solidifying that conversation an individual has with a piece of work. Tom’s pop art embraces themes not of pure reality or nature, but taken from images which have spoken to the movies, celebrity culture, and fashion in our world. Born in Germany, Tom has studied in London, Rome, and Paris, where he currently works & resides. In addition to Andy Warhol, Tom also views Gerhard Richter as a large influence on his craft.