{"title":"Tom Bartel","description":"\u003ch2\u003eBio\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"\"\u003eTom Bartel grew up on the Erie shores of Cleveland, Ohio and is known for his disturbing and humorous fragmented figures that take cues from a “shotgun blast” of influences ranging from antiquity to popular culture. He received his BFA from \u003ca href=\"http:\/\/www.kent.edu\/\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eKent State University\u003c\/a\u003e and his MFA from \u003ca href=\"http:\/\/www.iub.edu\/\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eIndiana University-Bloomington\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"\"\u003eTom has lectured, conducted workshops and exhibited extensively throughout the United States and internationally. His work is included in numerous public and private collections and he has received Individual Artist Fellowships from the \u003ca href=\"http:\/\/www.pacouncilonthearts.org\/\" target=\"_blank\"\u003ePennsylvania arts council\u003c\/a\u003e, the \u003ca href=\"http:\/\/artscouncil.ky.gov\/\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eKentucky Arts Council\u003c\/a\u003e and the \u003ca href=\"http:\/\/www.oac.state.oh.us\/\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eOhio Arts Council\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"\"\u003eHe has numerous publications to his credit, including \u003ca href=\"http:\/\/americancraftmag.org\/\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eAmerican Craft\u003c\/a\u003e, \u003ca href=\"http:\/\/ceramicartsdaily.org\/ceramics-monthly\/\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eCeramics Monthly\u003c\/a\u003e, \u003ca href=\"http:\/\/www.claytimes.com\/\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eClay Times\u003c\/a\u003e, \u003ca href=\"http:\/\/www.ceramicart.com.au\/\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eCeramics Art and Perception\u003c\/a\u003e as well as many other periodicals and books.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"\"\u003eBartel is currently a Professor and Ceramics Chairperson at \u003ca href=\"http:\/\/www.finearts.ohio.edu\/art\/faculty-staff\/bartel.htm\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eOhio University\u003c\/a\u003e in Athens, Oh.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eArtist Statement\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"\"\u003eThe figure has been a potent symbol and charged subject since antiquity, and continues to be an appropriate vehicle to ask some of life’s most challenging questions. I believe creating images of or depictions about ourselves can be attributed to a primal need to ensure we survive or to simply tell important stories about what it means to be human. As a result, I am confident that this subject will continue to hold our interest for a very long time.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"\"\u003eMy work takes cues from a “shotgun blast” of influences ranging from antiquity to popular culture and is constructed to refer to both the body and also charged, stylized, surrogates for the body such as dolls, toys, and figurines. The questions that arise from this cultural mishmash fuel my creative practice. I am interested in both the fragmentation and simplification of human form, especially how this decision encourages, if not requires, the viewer to participate with the work. Within this context, I view that which is absent as significant as that which is present. Furthermore, I use the human condition as a point of departure where themes related to gender, rites of passage, fertility and mortality are constant “threads” within my creative practice.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"\"\u003eI see our skin as having the same story-telling potential as the ceramic surfaces I develop. Ultimately, I view these “marks” as having the capacity to be both formally beautiful and to suggest changes that have taken place over time. Surface patterns are also used to blur the line between where clothing ends and skin begins, where the concepts of mask, identity, disguise, and transformation are fundamental to my concerns. Throughout our life our appearance slowly and inevitably changes; in the process our skin records this story.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"doll-head-orange-nose-1","title":"Doll Head (Orange Nose)","description":"\u003cp class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\"\u003eTom Bartel\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Tom Bartel","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46907940503790,"sku":"TBA10","price":300.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0585\/7784\/6471\/files\/TBA10a_Bartel_2CTom.webp?v=1755975245"},{"product_id":"doll-head-red-cheeks-1","title":"Doll Head (Red Cheeks)","description":"\u003cp class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\"\u003eTom Bartel\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Tom Bartel","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46907940765934,"sku":"TBA11","price":300.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0585\/7784\/6471\/files\/TBA11a_Bartel_2CTom.webp?v=1755975247"},{"product_id":"red-devil-skull-1","title":"Red Devil Skull","description":"\u003cp\u003eTom Bartel, Red Devil Skull, 2017\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Tom Bartel","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46907940897006,"sku":"TBA07","price":200.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0585\/7784\/6471\/files\/TBA07a_Bartel_2CTom.webp?v=1755975252"},{"product_id":"skull-with-gold-nose-1","title":"Skull with Gold Nose","description":"\u003cp\u003eTom Bartel, Skull with Gold Nose, 2016\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Tom Bartel","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46907940995310,"sku":"TBA05","price":200.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0585\/7784\/6471\/files\/TBA05a_Bartel_2CTom.webp?v=1755975254"}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0585\/7784\/6471\/collections\/1000005756.jpg?v=1755106484","url":"https:\/\/belgerarts.org\/collections\/tom-bartel.oembed","provider":"Belger Arts","version":"1.0","type":"link"}