Tomma Abts

Tomma Abts
Veeke, 2005
Born	1967 Kiel, Germany
Nationality	German
Field	Painting

Tomma Abts (born 1967) is a German-born abstract painter who won the Turner Prize in 2006.

Early life

Abts was born in Kiel in Germany and currently lives and works in London, England.

Work

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. 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 over all retro feel. The paintings do not follow the traditional rules of abstract art though. They involve complex shapes that are layered and woven in different ways with added highlights, shadows and sense of depth.

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. 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. 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.”

Turner Prize

Abts is the winner of the 2006 Turner Prize, awarded by the Tate in London. The Tate Gallery has 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." Abts is represented by greengrassi, London and by David Zwirner, New York.

Exhibitions

Solo Exhibitions

• habitat, Kings Road, London (1998)
• greengrassi, London (2005, 2002, 1999)
• Galerie Giti Nourbakhsch, Berlin (2004, 2001)
• The Wrong Gallery, New York (2003)
• Galerie Daniel Buchholz, Koln (2006, 2003)
• Galerie Giti Nourbakhsch, Berlin (2009, 2004)
• Douglas Hyde Gallery, Dublin (2005)
• Kunsthalle Basel, Switzerland (2005)
• Galerie Daniel Buchholz, Koln (2006)
• Kunsthalle zu Kiel, Kiel, Germany (2006)
• David Zwirner, New York (2008)
• New Museum of Contemporary Art, New York (2008)
• Hammer Museum, Los Angeles (2008)

Selected Group Exhibitions

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

External links

• Tomma Abts at David Zwirner
• Selected Press on David Zwirner
• Tomma Abts at Artnet
• Tomma Abts on Artcyclopedia
• Greengrassi Gallery: Tomma Abts
• 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)