Tomma Abts Explained

Tomma Abts
Birth Date:	1967 12, df=yes
Birth Place:	Kiel, West Germany
Nationality:	German
Field:	Painting

Tomma Abts (born 26 December 1967)^[1] is a German-born visual artist known for her abstract oil paintings. Abts won the Turner Prize in 2006.^[2] She currently lives and works in London, England.^[3]

Early life and education

Abts was born in 1967 in Kiel, Germany,^{[2] [4]} to a teacher in a primary school and a gynecologist.^[5] Between 1989 and 1995 Abts attended the Hochschule der Künste Berlin.^[2] She has been living in London since 1995,^[6] and maintains a studio in Clerkenwell, which she has occupied since first coming to London on a grant.^[5] It was only in 2002 that she was able to live solely from her paintings.^[5]

Work

Starting each of her works without a preconceived idea, knowing only the size of the canvas and her materials,^[7] Abts works in acrylic and oil, often building up her designs from repetitive geometrical elements. Her style can be classified as abstract, but also in opposition to Germany's Neo-Expressionist figurative painting.^[8] None of her paintings are representational. There are no references to nature, the world or any other theme. The abstraction in her paintings is supported by the lack of detail and an overall retro feel. The paintings involve complex shapes that are layered and woven in different ways with added highlights, shadows and sense of depth.^[9]

Abts used to work on canvasses of all sizes.^[5] Since the early 2000s, all of Abts' paintings are 48 x 38 centimeters and the titles of her paintings are derived from a dictionary of German first names. She has said that this is the size and style that works for her.^[10] Each work takes on a color scheme that is rich and somewhat neutral. The colors are not obviously vibrant and work with each other's tones within each work of art.^[8] Abts creates a 3D effect by continually and meticulously layering and working up each painting. The works are thickly painted, almost over-painted, which gives a hint of something created by trial and error. It seems as though the layers of paint could be covering up something underneath the finished product. "Abts approaches each canvas without preconception, building up layers of paint until a form crystallizes."^[11] Abts takes a long time to produce her works, and she is not prolific.^[12] She also has begun to translate her paintings into prints, particularly with the Crown Point Press in San Francisco, California.^[13]

Recognition

Abts is the winner of the 2006 Turner Prize, awarded by the Tate in London.^{[10] [14]} The Tate Gallery praised "her rigorous and consistent approach to painting" and added "Through her intimate and compelling canvases she builds on and enriches the language of abstract painting."^[15] The other artists on the shortlist in 2006 were Rebecca Warren, Phil Collins, and Mark Titchner.^[2] Abts was the first female painter to win the award.

Exhibitions

Solo exhibitions

• habitat, Kings Road, London (1998)
• greengrassi, London (2021, 2016, 2012, 2006, 2002, 2000)
• Galerie Giti Nourbakhsch, Berlin (2004, 2001)
• The Wrong Gallery, New York (2003)
• Galerie Buchholz, Koln (2006, 2003)
• Galerie Giti Nourbakhsch, Berlin (2009, 2004)
• Douglas Hyde Gallery, Dublin (2005)
• Kunsthalle Basel, Switzerland (2005)^[16]
• Galerie Daniel Buchholz, Koln (2006)
• Kunsthalle zu Kiel, Kiel, Germany (2006)
• David Zwirner, New York (2008)^[17]
• New Museum, New York (2008)^[18]
• Kunsthalle Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf (2011)^[19]
• greengrassi, London (2011)^[20]
• Galerie Buchholz, Berlin (2013)^[21]
• David Zwirner, New York (2014)^[22]
• Aspen Art Museum, Colorado (2014)^[23]
• "Tomma Abts: Four New Etchings", Crown Point Press, San Francisco (2015) ^[24]
• David Zwirner, New York (2019)^[25]

Selected group exhibitions

• filmcuts, Galerie neugerriemschneider, Berlin (1995)
• Fast, 520 King Street West, Toronto (1996)
• The Vauxhall Gardens, Norwich Art Gallery, Norwich (1998)
• Honey, I rearranged the collection and Origin of Parties, greengrassi, London (2003, 1998)
• Limit Less, Galerie Krinzinger, Wien (1999)
• Etcetera, Spacex Gallery, Exeter (1999)
• Egofugal 7th International Istanbul Biennial, Istanbul (2001)
• The Devil is in the Detail, Alliston Skirt Gallery, Boston (2001)
• Tomma Abts & Vincent Vecteau, Marc Foxx Gallery, Los Angeles (2002)^[26]
• Quodlibet II and Mullberg and Richard Hawkins & Tomma Abts, Lecia Dole-Racio, Morgan Fisher, Galerie Daniel Buchholz, Koln James Hayward (2009, 2004, 2002)
• Hot, Blue & Righteous, Galerie Giti Nourbakhsch, Berlin (2003)
• , Frankfurter Kunstverein, Frankfurt (2003)
• Black Rainbow, Lucky Tackle, Oakland, California (2003)
• journal #7 with Vincent Fecteau, Van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven (2004)
• Formalismus. Moderne Kunst heute, Kunstverein Hamburg, Hamburg (2004)
• 54th Carnegie International, Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh (2004–2005)
• British Art Show 6, Hayward Gallery, London: (Wanderausstellung) (2005)
• Of Mice and Men, 4th Berlin Biennale for Contemporary Art (2006)^[27]
• Hyper Design, 6th Shanghai Biennale, Shanghai Art Museum, Shanghai (2006)^[28]
• Turner Prize: A Retrospective, Tate Britain, London (2007)
• Turner Prize: A Retrospective, Moscow Museum of Modern Art (2007)
• Turner Prize: A Retrospective, Mori Art Museum, Tokyo (2007)
• The Gallery, David Zwirner, New York (2008)
• The Symbolic Efficiency of the Frame, 4th Tirana Biennial, Tirana, Albania (2009)
• Slow Paintings, Museum Morsbroich, Leverkusen, Germany (2009)
• At Home/Not at Home: Works from the Collection of Martin and Rebecca Eisenberg, CCS Bard Hessel Museum of Art, Annandale-On-Hudson, New York (2010)
• The Indiscipline of Painting Tate St. Ives^[29] touring to Warwick Art Centre (2011/12)
• Stand still like the hummingbird, David Zwirmer, New York (2012)
• Painting Now: Five Contemporary Artists, Tate Britain, London (2013)

Collections

Abts' work is represented in public collections internationally, including:

• the Art Institute of Chicago,^[30]
• the Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania,
• the Hammer Museum, Los Angeles,
• the Museum of Modern Art, New York,^[31]
• the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art,^[32]
• the Staatsgalerie Stuttgart,
• the Tate Gallery, London,^[33] and
• the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota.^[7]

Art market

Abts is represented by Galerie Buchholz,^[34] Cologne/Berlin/New York, greengrassi, London^[35] and by David Zwirner, New York.^[3]

See also

• List of German women artists
• List of German painters

External links

• Tomma Abts at greengrassi
• Tomma Abts at Galerie Buchholz
• Tomma Abts at David Zwirner
• Tomma Abts at Artnet
• Tomma Abts on Artcyclopedia
• Tomma Abts at the New Museum, New York, Spring 2008
• Tomma Abts at the Hammer, Los Angeles, Fall 2008
• Guardian: Tomma Abts (12/2006)
• Interview (12/2006)

Notes and References

1. Web site: Abts, Tomma, (born 26 Dec. 1967), artist; Professor of Painting, Kunstakademie, Düsseldorf, since 2010 WHO'S WHO & WHO WAS WHO . www.ukwhoswho.com . en . 10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U246465. 978-0-19-954088-4 .
2. http://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-britain/exhibition/turner-prize-2006/turner-prize-2006-artists-tomma-abts "Turner Prize 2006: artists, Tomma Abts"
3. Web site: David Zwirner. David Zwirner.
4. Book: Great Women Artists . 2019 . Phaidon Press . 978-0714878775 . 20.
5. Emma Brockes (6 December 2006), 'I'm sure they were thinking it was time a woman won' The Guardian.
6. Tom Teodorczuk (5 December 2006), Turner Prize returns to artistic roots London Evening Standard.
7. Web site: Tomma Abts Press Release . 10 September – 25 October 2014 . . New York . 25 June 2018.
8. Esplund, Lance. "Shadow Play", 10 April 2008, The New York Sun, Retrieved 18 August 2014
9. Web site: Little Canvases That Contain Worlds. Johnson, Ken. New York Times. 11 April 2008.
10. Web site: German painter wins Turner Prize. BBC News. 5 December 2006. 16 April 2008.
11. Web site: Tomma Abts. Carnegie International. 16 April 2008.
12. Ken Johnson (11 April 2008), Little Canvases That Contain Worlds New York Times.
13. Web site: Tomma Abts Crown Point Press. www.crownpoint.com. 2016-02-25.
14. Book: Seven Days in the Art World. Sarah Thornton. 2 November 2009. Sarah Thornton. 9780393337129. New York. 489232834.
15. Web site: Turner Prize 2006. 2006. Tate. 14 October 2010.
16. Web site: Tomma Abts. Kunsthalle Basel. 16 April 2008. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20110721063626/http://www.kunsthallebasel.ch/exhibitions/archive/18. 21 July 2011. dmy-all.
17. Web site: Tomma Abts - David Zwirner. David Zwirner.
18. Web site: New Museum. www.newmuseum.org.
19. Web site: Tomma Abts - Kunsthalle Düsseldorf. www.xn--kunsthalle-dsseldorf-0ec.de.
20. Web site: greengrassi: Tomma Abts. greengrassi.com.
21. Web site: Exhibitions – Galerie Buchholz. www.galeriebuchholz.de.
22. Web site: Tomma Abts - David Zwirner. David Zwirner.
23. Web site: Tomma Abts - Aspen Art Museum. Aspen Art Museum.
24. Web site: At Crown Point Press, Tomma Abts Prints Like She Paints. Kedmey. Karen. Artsy. 21 October 2015. 2016-02-25.
25. Web site: Tomma Abts - David Zwirner. David Zwirner.
26. Web site: Marc Foxx. www.artcat.com. www.marcfoxx.com.
27. Web site: Berlin Biennial.
28. Web site: Shanghai Biennale. Universes in Universe. 16 April 2008.
29. Web site: Clark . Martin . Sturgis . Daniel. Shalgosky . Sarah. Daniel Sturgis . The Indiscipline of Painting: International Abstraction from the 1960s to Now . Tate . 20 May 2021.
30. Web site: Tomma Abts - The Art Institute of Chicago. The Art Institute of Chicago. 2 January 1967 .
31. Web site: Tomma Abts. Untitled (gap). 2015 - MoMA. www.moma.org.
32. Web site: Tomma Abts. SFMOMA.
33. Web site: Tomma Abts born 1967 - Tate. Tate.
34. Web site: Tomma Abts, Galerie Buchholz .
35. Web site: Tomma Abts, greengrassi, London . .