Tom Bronk

17 (e) 1, 2017

Tom Bronk (American, born 1944), 17 (e) 1, 2017, acrylic on MDF panel, 24 x 48 in. Schwartz Art Collection, Harvard Business School, 2019.4.

Born in Wisconsin, Tom Bronk moved to New York City in the early seventies. For years, he painted the walls for the legendary Leo Castelli Gallery. It is in this environment that he developed his art. His friend, the artist Lynda Benglis has stated, “Tom may be naïve about himself and how to communicate, or certainly he would have shown and been recognized sooner, but his art is anything but naïve. He is one of the more sophisticated artists out there in his visual judgments.” Bronk has spent over fifty years investigating the optional properties of color. He describes: “I have tried to obey the tenets of modernist painting by avoiding the illusion of depth, but then it occurred to me how strong it could be with a depth illusion. I am trying to achieve the strongest colors possible, and in painting, I am looking for the most effective ways of presenting these colors. I use metallic, iridescent, and pearlescent paint for the blues, greens, and purples; and Day-Glo paints for the yellows, oranges and reds.”