Artist: Thom Trojanowski
Exhibition title: Step Lightly
Venue: L21 Gallery, The Curtain, Mallorca, Spain
Date: June 20 – September 6, 2019
Photography: all images copyright and courtesy of the artist and L21 Gallery, Mallorca
“There are always flowers for those who want to see them.”
These words are attributed to painter Henri Matisse. I don’t think they are a celebration of optimism or self-deception, but rather a recognition of the true value of close observation, that in many cases nourishes the artistic practice. I also believe that Thom has been able to carefully observe the surroundings of the gallery during these weeks of June and, in fact, flowers can usually be found in his recent work… on washed-out fabric or embossed, transcending the two dimensional surface of the painting. They become a symbol of grace and fragility, but also of persistence and obstinacy.
Flowers bloom, die, reappear in a cycle that continues to accumulate revolutions. When walking in a hurry it’s hard to notice them. It’s not surprising then that the title chosen by the artist for his first exhibition in our gallery is precisely “Step Lightly”. The show features a new series of works that Thom Trojanowski (1988, Kidderminster) has produced during his stay in the L21xFundación Camper Residence and that encourages us to reflect on our relation with nature in a current moment of climatic crisis.
Themes like the footprint or the trace can also be interpreted as a subtle allusion to the choice of materials, determined by the spatial context of the gallery. The artist has used objects found in the industrial estate where L21 is located, realizing in his walks how, even in a grey area of industrial production, nature always finds a place for itself: grass grows between the cobblestones and the trees break the asphalt with their roots and raise the pavement on which we walk every day. Some of that broken pavement has ended up in the artist’s works, in a hard to classify territory between painting and sculpture. In his own words, “one can’t control nature, it always breaks through concrete.”
Maybe it’s time to stop thinking of nature in terms of control or dominion, to be more conscious of our own impact in the world and carefully observe our surroundings. This morning, on the way to the gallery, I also saw the flowers.
-Esmeralda Gómez Galera.
Thom Trojanowski, Step Lightly, 2019, exhibition view, L21 Gallery, Mallorca
Thom Trojanowski, Step Lightly, 2019, exhibition view, L21 Gallery, Mallorca
Thom Trojanowski, Step Lightly, 2019, exhibition view, L21 Gallery, Mallorca
Thom Trojanowski, Step Lightly, 2019, exhibition view, L21 Gallery, Mallorca
Thom Trojanowski, Step Lightly, 2019, exhibition view, L21 Gallery, Mallorca
Thom Trojanowski, Step Lightly, 2019, exhibition view, L21 Gallery, Mallorca
Thom Trojanowski, Step Lightly, 2019, exhibition view, L21 Gallery, Mallorca
Thom Trojanowski, Step Lightly, 2019, exhibition view, L21 Gallery, Mallorca
Thom Trojanowski, Casa Bas Stool Stack, 2019, Pigmented plaster, 21 cm Ø
Thom Trojanowski, Pick from the base of the stem, 2019, Pigmented plaster and Mallorcan beach towel, Variable measurements
Thom Trojanowski, A view we all deserve, 2019, Bleach on dyed fabric, pigmented plaster, 83x63x8 cm
Thom Trojanowski, Step Lightly, 2019, Bleach on dyed fabric, pigmented plaster, 83x63x8 cm
Thom Trojanowski, The Sandlings, 2019, Bleach on dyed fabric, pigmented plaster, 83x63x8 cm
Thom Trojanowski, Ginger of Son Castelló, 2019, Bleach on dyed fabric, pigmented plaster, snails, 49x40x7 cm
Thom Trojanowski, Primary education, 2019, Flashe paint on paper and pigmented plaster, 100x70x3 cm
Thom Trojanowski, Hammered flowers, 2019, Oil on board and pigmented plaster, 100×81 cm
Thom Trojanowski, A stone from home, 2019, Bleach on dyed fabric, pigmented plaster, stone, 49×42,5×3 cm
Thom Trojanowski, Drawing studies I, 2019, Pen on paper, 29,5×20,5 cm
Thom Trojanowski, Drawing studies II, 2019, Pen on paper, 29,5×20,5 cm
Thom Trojanowski, Drawing studies III, 2019, Pen on paper, 29,5×20,5 cm
Thom Trojanowski, Drawing studies IV, 2019, Pen on paper, 29,5×20,5 cm
Thom Trojanowski, Drawing studies V, 2019, Pen on paper, 29,5×20,5 cm
Thom Trojanowski, Break me into smaller pieces, 2019, Plaster, pigmented plaster, paving tiles and resin, 50x39x5 cm
Thom Trojanowski, Wall study, 2019, Wood, plaster and pigmented plaster, 112x84x51 cm
Thom Trojanowski, Wall study, 2019, Wood, plaster and pigmented plaster, 112x84x51 cm