Short Bio
As a “self-taught” Fort Worth artist, Ken O’Toole has experimented with various styles, media, and processes for the past 20 years. He started with a low-res digital camera and an early version of Photoshop, and turned photos of stained-glass windows into abstract digital paintings. He moved on to traditional mediums and processes but was drawn back again and again to abstract solutions which were generally well received. He has been featured in numerous juried exhibitions, and had opportunities to both create art and encourage other artists. In 2013 his abstract stained-glass mural “Dreams at 100 Fathoms” was collected by Fort Worth Public Art for the Marine Creek Aquatic Center. He is currently represented by The Rebecca Low Gallery in Fort Worth.
Statement
Of all the various styles I have explored in my 20 years of creating art, abstract expression continues to energize me and my practice. I have been drawn back to it again and again, even though I often questioned it.
However, recently as I weighed the intent required to create such work, I was also amazed to compare my own work to the images captured by the James Webb telescope, and others by the Hubble. The similarities between those images and my paintings were clear. I realized how human these paintings were, as we are living organisms in a living universe, moving in rhythm to our spinning world, our dancing solar system, our flying galaxy and in the harmonious beyond.
The current presentation of these expressions are folded and formed into sculptures confined inside acrylic cases. In my imagination they are maps of various sectors of the universe. Perhaps, they might serve the navigators of some galactic empire (such as those in the works of Frank Herbert) as they fold time and space.
Biography
As a “self-taught” Fort Worth artist, Ken O’Toole has experimented with various styles, media, and processes for the past 20 years. Humble beginnings with a low-res digital camera and an early version of Photoshop, turned photos of stained-glass windows into abstract digital paintings, which were sold in both the Firehouse Gallery, and the Monticello Gallery.
He moved on to traditional mediums and processes but was drawn back again and again to abstract solutions which were generally well received. His work appeared in numerous juried exhibition appearances, which resulted in opportunities to both create art and encourage other artists.
The latter as he was asked to curate the 2ND Floor Gallery near TCU campus, as well as a prolonged pop-up gallery at the Park Plaza Office Center. In 2010 His “Cultural Ghosts” series of photographs were the inspiration for the 2011 “Sustaining Artists and their Environment” Juried Exhibit at the Fort Worth Community Arts Center which he curated.
His artwork is collected by corporate and private entities across the country, including Findlay Properties Group, the City of Fort Worth, Texas, and 2Imagine Consulting, Inc.
He is currently represented by The Rebecca Low Gallery in Fort Worth.
Resume / CV
Curricula Vitae of Ken O’Toole
ken@otoolestudio.com
Education
Self-taught: Other than a few workshops with Dallas painter Ann Cushing Gantz my arts education has been taken from what I have seen in art magazines, museums, art lectures and numerous art galleries.
Shows Curated
Apprehending The Invisible, Studio 1:16 | Fort Worth, TX |2013
Sustaining Artists & Their Environment, F. W. Community Arts Center, Ft. Worth, Texas | 2010
ARTworks DFW, Park Plaza, Fort Worth, Texas | 2010
Transforming Walls, 2nd Floor Gallery, Fort Worth, Texas | 2008
Paper or Plastic, 2nd Floor Gallery, Fort Worth, Texas | 2008
Echoing Light, 2nd Floor Gallery, Fort Worth, Texas | 2008
Thank God for Art, 2nd Floor Gallery, Fort Worth, Texas | 2007
Just Your Imagination, 2nd Floor Gallery, Fort Worth, Texas | 2007
Shutter & Soul, Fire House Gallery, Fort Worth, Texas | 2004
Selected Solo Exhibitions
Park Plaza Gallery – Fort Worth, Texas | 2010
Tarleton University – Dora Lee Langdon Center, Granbury, Texas | 2008
Local Color Gallery, Dallas, Texas | 2005
Trinity River Arts Center, Dallas, Texas | 2005
Selected Group Exhibitions
Dallas Office of Arts & Culture Arts214 @Bathouse Cultural Center |Dallas, TX| 2022
Rebecca Low Gallery | Fort Worth, TX | 2013 – Present
B-Space Art House| Inaugural Exhibition “Welcome” |New Braunfels, TX| 2021
Ann Metzger National Juried Exhibition | St. Louis, MO. | Curator/Juror: Marla Prather –
Curator of Modern & Contemporary Art -Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY. | 2012
Connections Installation – Reflections on Dualism | Dallas, Texas | 2011 https://youtu.be/ojVk7Ho5dls
Haley-Henman Gallery – Mega Cities Exhibit | Dallas, Texas | 2010
Rio Brazos National Juried Exhibit- Awarded Outstanding Merit Award by Juror: Ian O’Brien | Granbury, Texas | 2010
PaperWorks – National Juried Exhibit, Curator/Juror: Eleonore Hugendubel – NY MOMA | B.J. SPOKE Gallery | Huntington, New York | 2010
Materiality – National Juried Exhibit – Curator/Juror: Jeanne N. Long – Art Institute of Chicago| ARC Gallery | Chicago, Illinois | 2010
Cerulean Gallery | Dallas, Texas | 2009
Visual Arts Alliance 26th Juried Exhibit – Curators: Jean Caslin & Diane Griffin Gregory – Houston, Texas | 2009
Rio Brazos National Juried Exhibit- Curator/Juror: David Conn – TCU Art Department| Granbury, Texas | 2008
Illuminators Public Art Project – ArtKoltsovo | Yekaterinburg, Russia | 2008
Rio Brazos National Juried Exhibit – Curator: April Delaney, Tarleton University Art Department | Granbury, Texas | 2007
Cushing Atelier Exhibition – Curator: Ann Cushing Gantz | Dallas, Texas | 2007
Earthworks 25th National Juried Exhibit – Curators: Heather Dwyer & Brice Maryman | Kent, Washington | 2007
Texas Visual Arts Association “Drama in Black and White” | Dallas, Texas | 2007
Victory Media Network – Inaugural Exhibit, Dallas, Texas |2006
Rockwall Artist’s League National Juried Exhibit | Rockwall, Texas | 2004
Georgetown National Juried Exhibit | Georgetown, Texas | 2004
Monticello Gallery (formerly Evelyn Siegel gallery) Fort Worth, TX. | 2004
Public Art Projects
Marine Park Family Aquatic Center | Ft. Worth, TX. | Ft. Worth Public Art |2013 Designed stained-glass mural “Dreams At 100 Fathoms” commissioned by
Ft. Worth Public Art Commission – https://fwpublicart.org/fwpa-c...
Illuminators Public Art Project | ArtKoltsovo | Yekaterinburg, Russia | 2008
Published Works
Spirit of New Orleans: A monograph of digital constructs based on locations in New Orleans. Published for eBooks by Irish Lion Media.
Under The Influence: A monograph of early career digital constructs. Published for eBooks by Irish Lion Media.
Cultural Ghosts: A monograph of photos exploring the unintended beauty of refuse on our nations highways Published for eBooks by Irish Lion Media.
Concept Exchange Rate: A monograph of fine art monotypes Published for eBooks (esp. Kindle Fire & Kindle Fire HD) by Irish Lion Media.