TOM BAKER
Place of Residense: Leonardo, NJ
Date of Birth: October 31, 1958

I have always been interested in the influence of process. My work continues to explore how the print medium impacts the development of imagery. My prints are composed of numerous layers generated from drawings, photographs, fabric patterns, etc. The organization of these elements create textured and layered surfaces within a simplified format.
 
Working on a composition, I make use of recurring personal imagery that I integrate with these developing surfaces. This stash of collected images gets recycled, recombined and replenished over time. I choose these images on an intuitive basis sometimes for their suggested meaning and always for their general visual appeal.
 
The final prints are less a narrative and more an impression of my thoughts. The drawn elements are printed over transparent layers of color and texture creating a relationship between representation and abstraction. Although my prints are simple, ordered and direct, their meaning remains open to interpretation.

Biography

Tom Baker received his M.F.A. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1995 and his B.F.A. from East Carolina University. He is currently an assistant professor of art at Monmouth University in West Long Branch, NJ. His other professional experience includes work at Tandem Press and Winstone Press. He is a council member of the Society of American Graphic Artists in New York.