Tom Polo uses painting and painted environments to explore how conversation, doubt and gesture are embodied acts of portraiture. Frequently incorporating text and figurative elements, his works draw upon acute observations, absurdist encounters, personal histories and imagined personas. An ongoing interest across his practice is the emotional and performative relationships between people within social, theatrical and psychological space.
Exhibition view, Tom Polo, I still thought you were looking, Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery (18 April — 13 May 2019)
Tom PoloThree Steps to Reveal, 2018; acrylic on canvas; 268 x 200 cm
Tom Polo liar from behind (it’s what he calls ‘the arm’), 2019; acrylic and Flashe on canvas; 213 x 213 cm
Tom Polo see you see through (totally transparent), 2018; acrylic, Flashe and acrylic spray on canvas; 183 x 137 cm
Tom Polo Navigate Elsewhere, 2019; acrylic on canvas; 183 x 137 cm
Tom Polo my eyes to replace your eyes, 2019; acrylic and Flashe on canvas; 60 x 50 cm
Tom Polo Present Memory, 2019; acrylic on canvas; 213 x 213 cm
Exhibition view, Tom Polo, I still thought you were looking, Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery (18 April — 13 May 2019)
Tom Polo I still thought you were looking
Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery, 2019
Tom Polo The National 2019: New Australian Art
Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 2019
Group Show, Looking at me through you
Campbelltown Arts Centre, Sydney, 2017
Tom Polo With precious actions these vibrant outcomes
Roche Head Office Commission, Sydney, 2017
Tom Polo What Goes on Here
Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 2016
Tom Polo But how are you otherwise
Artspace, Sydney, 2015
Tom Polo GESTURES AND MISTAKES
Gertrude Contemporary, Melbourne, 2012
Tom Polo
Born 1985 Sydney, Australia
Lives and works in Sydney
EDUCATION / AWARDS
Masters of Fine Arts (Research) - College of Fine Arts, UNSW
Bachelor of Fine Arts - Painting (Honours Class 1) - College of Fine Arts, UNSW
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
I still thought you were looking, Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery, Sydney
of defence and doubt, Galerie Transit, Mechelen, Belgium
(These things) tell me more about you, Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery, Mornington
Emotional Patrol, STATION, Melbourne
Recent Positions, STATION, Melbourne
What Goes On Here, Tom Polo for Spectrum Now, Art Gallery of New South Wales
The fool faces sideways, STATION, Melbourne, VIC
Even the best of us, STATION at Spring 1883, The Hotel Windsor, Melbourne
Spring 1883, The Hotel Windsor, STATION, Melbourne
Ways, KALIMANRAWLINS, Melbourne
Many Hands, West Space, Melbourne
Future Figurative (New Personas), Gallery 9, Sydney
GESTURES AND MISTAKES, Gertrude Contemporary, Melbourne
DISAPPOINTED WITH EVERYTHING (It Happens), GRANTPIRRIE, Redfern
DISAPPOINTED WITH MANY PEOPLE & THINGS, ACME Project Space, London, UK
Hit & Miss, Parramatta Artists Studios, Parramatta, NSW
The 2009 B.E.S.T Contemporary Art Prize, MOP, Sydney
CLIMB EVERY MOUNTAIN, GRANTPIRRIE, Sydney
One-Liner or Suggestions for Conversation in Social Situations, Firstdraft, Sydney
An Excessive Aesthetic, Firstdraft, Sydney
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
Sydney Contemporary, Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery, Sydney
The National, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney
The Whiteley at 20: Twenty Years of the Brett Whiteley Travelling Art Scholarship, S.H. Ervin Gallery, Sydney
Art Brussels 2019, Galerie Transit, Mechelen, Belgium
Beyond Reason: exploring the logic of the imagination, QUT Art Museum, Brisbane
WORD, Hugo Michell, Adelaide
Meditation on a bone: Albert Tucker beyond the modern, curated by Glenn Barkley, Heide Museum of Modern Art, Melbourne
Melbourne Art Fair, STATION, Melbourne
Primavera 2017: Young Australian Artists, Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney
Masters of Three Worlds, COMA, Sydney
'Looking at Me Through You', Campbelltown Arts Centre, Sydney
Painting, More Painting, Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, Melbourne
Narratives, Greenaway Art Gallery, Adelaide
Green Eyed Monster Eating Its Own Tail, Art Month Sydney
NSW Visual Arts Fellowship (Emerging) Exhibition, Artspace, Sydney
STATION at Spring 1883, The Establishment, Sydney
BWTAS Finalists’ Exhibition, Brett Whiteley Studio, Sydney
Che Cosa, Wollongong City Gallery, Wollongong, NSW
West Space Annual Fundraiser, West Space, Melbourne
Façade, Parramatta Artists Studios at Artereal Gallery, Rozelle, NSW
Glazed and Confused, Hazelhurst Regional Gallery, Sydney
Art Bar curated by Lara Thoms, Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney
The List, Campbelltown Arts Centre, Campbelltown, NSW
Ready Player One, Station, Melbourne
Contemporary Fiction, Breezeblock, Sydney
Art & Australia Collection 2003-13, Hazelhurst Regional Gallery, Sydney
The NSW Visual Arts Fellowship for Emerging Artists, Artspace, Sydney
Face Off, Wellington St Projects, Sydney
Sedition, BUS Projects, Melbourne
Extended Operations, KALIMANRAWLINS, Melbourne
As Above, So Below, MOP Projects, Sydney
Uncertain Pastures: Matthew Hopkins and Tom Polo, Utopian Slumps, Melbourne
Time & Vision: New work from Australian Artists, The Bargehouse, London, UK
Facial (with Matthew Hopkins & Mary McDougall), TCB Art Inc, Melbourne
As Above, So Below, Alaska Projects at Good Children Gallery, New Orleans, US
Helen Lempriere Travelling Art Scholarship, Artspace, Sydney
I was here, The Lockup Cultural Centre, Newcastle, NSW
Trophy Wife, curated by Sarah Jones, Death Be Kind, Melbourne
For The Lulz, Tin Sheds Gallery, University of Sydney, Sydney
Dot Dot Dot, curated by Lisa Radford, Lismore Regional Gallery, Lismore, NSW
Friends, TCB Art Inc, Melbourne
Campbelltown Arts Centre Project Room, Melbourne Art Fair, Melbourne
Breadcrumb Winner, PLATFORM, Melbourne
SafARI, curated by Lisa Corsi and Danielle Hairs, Firstdraft Gallery, Sydney
No Right Turn, Penrith Regional Gallery and Lewers Bequest, Penrith
Territorial Pissings, Utopian Slumps Gallery, Melbourne
I AM THE MESSAGE, Lismore Regional Gallery, Lismore, NSW
Why do we do the things we do, Perth Institute of Contemporary Art, Perth
No Identifiable Culture, Campbelltown Arts Centre, Sydney
This is what the edge of your seat was made for, Boxcopy, Brisbane
Current: Sculpture Projects in the River City, Parramatta, Sydney
The Year of the Bird, Hawkesbury Regional Gallery
Laith McGregor, Tom Polo, Emily Portmann, Jackson Slattery, Sullivan+Strumpf, Sydney
Winners are Grinners (December Show), Gallery 9, Sydney
CURATORIAL PROJECTS
It’s funny, like HA-HA funny, January Artbar, Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, NSW
There’s a hole in the sky, Campbelltown Arts Centre, Campbelltown, Sydney
Anything, Everything and One Other Thing (Parts 1-5), ALASKA Projects, Kings Cross, Sydney
YES I CAN/NO CAN DO, Blacktown Arts Centre, Blacktown, Sydney
I’m worse at what I do best, Parramatta Artists Studios, Sydney, Sydney
AWARDS, GRANTS, PRIZES AND RESIDENCIES
Palazzo Monti Residency, Brescia, IT
Archibald Prize, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney (finalist)
Sir John Sulman Prize (finalist), Art Gallery of NSW, Sydney (finalist)
Art Space residency, Sydney
Cité Internationale des Arts residency, Paris
ACME Studios residency, London
Creative Fellowship Fund, Parramatta City Council, NSW, (winner)
The NSW Visual Arts Fellowship (Emerging), Artspace, Sydney (finalist)
Brett Whiteley Traveling Scholarship (winner)
The Redlands Konica Minolta Art Prize, National Art School, Sydney (winner)
Parramatta Artists Studios, Parramatta, Sydney
The NSW Visual Arts Fellowship for Emerging Artists (finalist)
Qantas Spirit of Youth Awards – Visual Arts (finalist)
John Fries Memorial Art Prize (finalist)
Brett Whiteley Travelling Art Scholarship, (finalist)
Hazelhurst Art on Paper, Hazelhurst Regional Gallery (finalist)
Brett Whiteley Travelling Art Scholarship (highly commended)
Art & Australia/ Credit Suisse Private Banking Contemporary Art Award (winner)
Australia Council for the Arts Skills & Development Grant - London Studio Residency
Helen Lempriere Travelling Art Scholarship, Artspace, Sydney (finalist)
The Lockup Cultural Centre, Newcastle, Sydney
QANTAS Spirit of Youth Award - Visual Arts (finalist)
Fishers Ghost Art Prize, Campbelltown Arts Centre, Campbelltown (finalist)
Parramatta Artists Studios, Parramatta, Sydney
Australia Council for the Arts Skills & Development Grant - London Studio Residency
Australian Postgraduate Award (APA) for Postgraduate study, College of Fine Arts, UNSW
Fishers Ghost Art Prize, Campbelltown Arts Centre, Campbelltown (finalist)
The 2009 SMAC Awards, hosted at Gallery Barry Keldoulis (finalist)
The Blake Prize for Religious Art, The Blake Society, National Art School, NSW (finalist)
Queen Street Studios at Fraser Studios, Chippendale, Sydney
Fishers Ghost Art Prize, Campbelltown Arts Centre (finalist)
Churchie National Emerging Artist Exhibition, (finalist)
Parramatta Artists Studios, Parramatta, Sydney
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY
Justin Paton, ‘Tom Polo,’ in The National: New Australian Art, 2019, pp. 130-131. Exhibition Catalogue
Eugene Yiu Nam Cheung, 'Ways of Seeing - Tom Polo,' Artist Profile, no. 48, 2019, p. 84-89
Tom Polo – Paris Drawings: The Most Elaborate Disguise, Perimeter Books, 2019
‘Artists use text in Word’, Art Guide Australia, Zara Sigglekow
‘Critic’s Guide: Sydney’, Frieze, Sarinah Masukor
Pesa, M., ‘Tom Polo: Emotional Patrol’, Art Almanac, July
Preston, S., ‘Get to know Tom Polo,’ Broadsheet Sydney, March, https://www.broadsheet.com.au/sydney/art-and-design/article/studio-visit-tom-polo
Forrest, N., ‘Tom Polo wins 2015 Brett Whiteley Travelling Scholarship,’ BLOUIN ARTINFO, http://au.blouinartinfo.com/news/story/1216935/tom-polo-wins-2015-brett-whiteley-travelling-art-scholarship
Rugendyke, L., ‘Artist Tom Polo wins 2015 Brett Whiteley Travelling Art Scholarship,’ Sydney Morning Herald, http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/art-and-design/artist-tom-polo-wins-2015-brett-whiteley-travelling-art-scholarship-20150813-giyjac.html
Forrest, N., ‘Vernon Ah Kee and Tom Polo Win 2014 Redlands Art Prize,’ BLOUIN ARTINFO Australia
Galvin, N., ‘Tom Polo eavesdrops for arts sake,’ Sydney Morning Herald
Miller, C., ‘50 Things Collectors Need To Know (Cool Hunter Predictions)’, Art Collector Magazine
O’Sullivan, J., ‘Spring 1883 is the enticing boutique art fair down under,’ Artnet, http://news.artnet.com/market/spring-1883-is-the-enticing-boutique-fair-down-under-79214
Raschella, ‘A. Installation Art Comes to South-West Sydney’, ABC News, www.abc.net.au/news/2014-10-04/installation-art-comes-to-south-western-sydney/5790918
Barkley, G. ‘Emerge Profiles: Tom Polo,’ Artist Profile Magazine, 2013, Issue 23, pp 48 – 51
Britton, K. ‘Review: Tom Polo, Future Figurative,’ Raven Contemporary, 2013
Frost, A. ‘An Artist Walks Into A Bar,‘ Art Guide Australia, 2013, http://artguide.com.au/articles-page/show/an-artist-walks-into-a-bar
Frost, A. The A-Z of Contemporary Art, ABC Television, Australia. First Aired, 12 June 2013
Frost, A. ‘What makes us connect with an artist?’, Australian Culture - The Guardian, 22 July 2013
Rule, D., ‘In the galleries,’ The Age, 24 August 2013, www.theage.com.au/entertainment/about-town/your-weekend-in-the-galleries-20130823-2sfqe.html
Stanton, E. ‘Great Western Drawing, Runway’, An Australian Contemporary Art, 2013
Magazine, Issue 16: Disappearance, 2013, 86 - 89
Gibb, S. ‘Art & Australia/Credit Sussie Private Banking Contemporary Art Award,’ Art & Australia magazine, 2012, Volume 49 No. 4
McSpeeden, S. ‘S&M,’ Un Magazine, 2012, Issue 6.1, 82-87
Rule, D. , In The Galleries,’ The Age, Melbourne, Feb 11, 2012, http://tiny.cc/n41od
Bentley, S., ‘Tom Polo,’ New Planes, issue 1, 2011
Rolfe. D, ‘People to watch,’ the (sydney) magazine - Sydney Morning Herald, Jan 27, 2011, 42
Stein, M., ‚Polo Opposites,’ The Blackmail, April 2011, www.theblackmail.com.au/art/polo-opposites/,
Walcott, R., ‘Tom Polo: A portrait of the artist,’ October 2011, dasplatforms.com/das_five_cent/tom-polo-a-portrait-of-the-artist
Frost, A. ‘What’s next?’, Australian Art Collector, October 2010, pg 124-125
Lerkenfeldt, L. ’Tom Polo interview,’ Un Magazine, Issue 4.1, July 2010
Lopes, S. ‘Perspective: Steve Lopes on Failure,’ Artist Profile, Issue 10, 2010, 96-97
O’Sullivan, ‘J. NSW WRAP, Polo’s Double Projects,’ Australian Art Collector, Issue 53, 2010, 246
Cover Design ‘The Best Thing Ever’, commissioned for Campbelltown Arts Centre, 2009 catalogue
Costantino, T. ‘Why do we do the things we do review’, The Daily Serving, 2009, http://dailyserving.com/2009/09/why-do-we-do-the-things-we-do/
Cunningham, D M. ‘The Best Thing Ever,’ Artnotes, Art Monthly Australia, April 2009, 57
Frost, A. ‘Everyone a winner with an arts lottery,’ Sydney Morning Herald, November 20, 2009, 19
Frost, A. ‘Being a success is overrated,’ The Sydney Morning Herald, July 22, 2009, 9
Snell T. ‚Show prises open the studio door,’ The Australian, August 25, 2009, http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,,25974870-16947,00.html
‘You have already won,’ The Art Life, 2009, http://artlife.blogspot.com/2009/11/you-have-already-won.html, November 14
Wolifson, C. “Interview: Tom Polo for ‘I’m worse at what I do best’”, Das Super Paper, Issue 10, 2009
Featured on Vasili Kaliman’s Art Patrol, October 8, 2009, http://artpatrol.blogspot.com/2009/10/tom-polo-24september-24-october-2009.html
Von Sturmer, John. ‘West is When is West: A Trip Report’, Art Monthly Australia, Oct 2009, 21-23
Frost, A. ‘If I Could Have (Animal Art),’ Australian Art Collector, issue 45, July 2008, 308 – 309
‘There’s A Winner In You’ series, Runway Magazine, Issue 10 Romance, autumn, 2008
‘Space is the Place,’ The Art Life, 14 December, artlife.blogspot.com/2007/12/space-is-place.html
COLLECTIONS
Artbank
Joyce Nissan Collection, Melbourne, Australia
Private collections in Australia, United Kingdom and United States
Redlands Grammar, Sydney, Australia
Terrace Towers Group, Sydney, Australia
