Thomas Mercer Hartman’s, first museum visit was in Wichita, KS–at six years old. He went as part of summer day camp. “One painting caught my eye,” he reflected. “It was a cityscape. The artist painted the sky as floating rectangular grey blocks. That fascinated me. I couldn’t make sense of it.” He laughed at his memory, “I doubt very much it influenced my decision to work on museum projects.”
Blue Falls, 2014, Acrylic, lacquer, enamel and caulking on canvas, 60” x120”
For four decades Hartman has been the founding principal of three design firms. He taught design full time at California State University, Fullerton and began his design practice with projects for LACMA, Museum of Albuquerque and others. Aside from teaching in the graduate and undergraduate design program for five years at UCLA, the thread of his work has been developing projects for museums, entertainment venues, zoos, nature centers and other clients.
Now Hartman’s art will be featured in a solo exhibition at Upper West restaurant in Santa Monica. The trendy restaurant showcases artists four times a year and hosts an opening reception to introduce featured artists to the community. "Explorations", the title of Hartman’s exhibit will feature fourteen paintings of recent work.
One painting entitled Beijing, was one of four small landscapes. Hartman explains, “The exploration involved using cement, plaster and pigments to build a surface. Layers of sprayed lacquer and acrylic were added. Then the surface was washed off, repainted and washed again to develop a dusted aged quality.” The artist lived with the work for a full year. Hartman said, “One day I decided it was still not complete.” Additional layers of acrylic thickened with compounds were applied in early January. “This was an unusual process but the work evolves. Every painting is different.”
Hartman continued, "It is surprising how making art demands its own terms. I think of this process as a type of jazz. It is not always predictable.” He wants to allow for a consistent ‘voice’ or statement shine through the work, even if some are pictorial while others are abstract.
Beijing, 2015-16, Acrylic, lacquer and caulking on canvas, 36” x 24”
To find out more about the artist, Thomas Mercer Hartman, or his design business, check out his websites http://www.mercerprojects.com http://www.iqmagic.net/
An artist reception for "Explorations" will be held on Sunday March 12th from 4-7pm at Upper West Restaurant located at 3321 Pico Blvd, Santa Monica, CA, 310 586-1111; Thomas Mercer Hartman will be in attendance. http://www.theupperwest.com/