Artist Tom Price Unveils New Body of Work at Nelson-Atkins

Kansas City, MO. June 10, 2014

Presence and Absence Explores Untapped Potential of Familiar Materials

In his first solo U.S. exhibition, London-based artist Tom Price debuts a new body of work at The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art on June 20. Presence and Absence: New Works by Tom Price features hollow bodies of coal, coal voids and large columns of internally-fractured resin exploring the dependent and opposing notions of presence and absence.

“Tom’s new works investigate the seemingly conflicting states of being: presence and absence,” said Catherine Futter, The Helen Jane and R. Hugh “Pat” Uhlmann Senior Curator, Architecture, Design and Decorative Arts. “Tom begins not with an artwork in mind, but with an investigation of his materials, oftentimes using them in ways they were not intended to be used.”

The contrasts between natural coal and synthetic resin are as significant as the voids and spaces that define Price’s forms. The artist said he hopes visitors will engage with these new works on several different levels.

“It’s important that the viewer is able to engage with the works initially on a superficial level, responding solely to the aesthetic qualities of the forms, composition and materials,” said Price. “But it is equally important that they offer the possibility of further insight into the process, meaning and concept so that the experience can be both aesthetically and intellectually enriching.”

Tom Price, English (b. 1973). The Presence of Absence (detail), 2014. Coal, PVA, steel and epoxy. Courtesy of the artist.

Coal is one of the purest sources of carbon, a fundamental building block of all living organisms. Effectively fossilized woodland, it bears witness to the transient and transformative nature of life on Earth. Coal is the principle source of electric energy throughout the world today, bringing power to sustain and support new life, while also significantly contributing to the environmental pollution that is currently threatening our existence. It is an incredibly potent material both in terms of its effectiveness as a source of energy, and also what it represents.

“These works are unique in that they represent both presence and absence at the same time,” said Futter. “There are casts showing the presence of a body, but the body is absent. The cracks in his resin works are absences in and of themselves.”

Born in London in 1973, Price continues to live and work in the capital. Drawing on his training in both sculpture and design, his practice regularly delves into the grey areas between the two disciplines.

Much of the work Price produces seeks to explore the untapped potential of familiar materials, encouraging them to behave in unfamiliar ways. This often requires developing machinery and tools that are capable of subverting conventional industrial manufacturing techniques, introducing a dose of entropy into what are typically very controlled processes. Chance is an essential element in this creative process, and one that Price relies on to transcend the limits of imagination.

Since graduating from London’s Royal College of Art, Price has established an international career as an artist and designer with works in major collections and museums worldwide, including acquisitions by San Francisco MOMA, Denver Art Museum, The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, the MKG Hamburg, and Amore Pacific Museum of Art in Seoul. He has also completed several large-scale sculptural commissions for public and private spaces.

Presence and Absence: New Works by Tom Price runs through Jan. 4, 2015.

This exhibition is supported by Belger Cartage Service, Inc., the Campbell-Calvin Fund and Elizabeth C. Bonner Charitable Trust for exhibitions, and the Rheta A. Sosland Fund.

The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art

The Nelson-Atkins in Kansas City is recognized nationally and internationally as one of America’s finest art museums. The Nelson-Atkins serves the community by providing access and insight into its renowned collection of more than 33,500 art objects and is best known for its Asian art, European and American paintings, photography, modern sculpture, and new American Indian and Egyptian galleries. Housing a major art research library and the Ford Learning Center, the Museum is a key educational resource for the region. The institution-wide transformation of the Nelson-Atkins has included the 165,000-square-foot Bloch Building expansion and renovation of the original 1933 Nelson-Atkins Building.

The Nelson-Atkins is located at 45th and Oak Streets, Kansas City, MO. Hours are Wednesday, 10 a.m.–5 p.m.; Thursday/Friday, 10 a.m.–9 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m.–5 p.m.; Sunday, 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Admission to the museum is free to everyone. For museum information, phone 816.751.1ART (1278) or visit nelson-atkins.org/.