TOM ASHBOURNE | COMPELLING TENSION BETWEEN POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE SPACE

COMPELLING TENSION BETWEEN POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE SPACE
BY TOM ASHBOURNE

I am a former corporate executive and a lifelong collector. I’ve developed a vast knowledge of art and art history, which encouraged my own creativity and helped me become a confident sculptor.
As a collector and professional artist, I continuously learn about color, balance, and how to present different images and shapes best.

“My sculptures have a softness, a warmth, an invitation. They are a representation of my natural curiosity and my personality, which is warm, welcoming, and inclusive. I naturally see all sides of situations, which I present in my sculptures. Some unusual elements that I introduce include embedded billiard balls or iridescent glass. Like me, my sculptures don’t have many sharp edges; they have curves with positive and negative space and lots of conversation between their different sides.”

As a sculptor, I naturally think in 3D, a gift few people have. I see things in the raw stone and bring them out.
I work on each side with equal intensity and continually assess the sculpture as it evolves.
I want every side to draw people’s interest time and again. The most successful piece of art is one that you can look at and own for years and continue to see something new and different in it over and over.”

• Tom Ashbourne

Canadian sculptor Tom Ashbourne primarily works in stone, using its natural energy and colors to create beautiful contemporary abstract sculptures. Like all exceptional art, Tom’s sculptures communicate meaning through form and energy. His signature style is sensuous curves, touchable textures, and compelling tension between positive and negative space.

TOM ASHBOURNE

Tom Ashbourne is an Elected Member of Canada’s top professional artist associations: Sculptors Society of Canada (SSC), Society of Canadian Artists (SCA), and Ontario Society of Artists (OSA). Tom is the only artist in Canada who is an Elected Member in all three of these societies.

Throughout recent years, Ashbourne has been awarded internationally, including the American Art Awards “World’s Best Non-Representational Sculpture” in 2021, the SCA 54th Open International Juried Show in 2022, along with special awards by international magazines such as the “Contemporary Art Curator magazine” (EU): “Collectors Art Prize” in 2023, “Spotlight Magazine” “Award of Excellence” in 2023, Spotlight Magazine Award (EU) – Front cover, Issue 31, in 2022.

“As a sculptor, I naturally think in 3D, a gift few people have. I see things in the raw stone and bring them out.
I work on each side with equal intensity and continually assess the sculpture as it evolves. I want every side to draw people’s interest time and again.”

Tom’s work has been featured in international art fairs, including at the London (UK) Art Biennale (Echo) in 2021, John Parrott Gallery: solo show, and the Florence (Italy) Art Biennale in 2021, where he will exhibit his work again in 2023 at the upcoming XIV Florence Biennale, 14 to 22 October 2023 at the Fortezza da Basso in Florence.

Various respectable galleries worldwide represent Tom Ashbourne’s art, including the Amsterdam-Whitney International Fine Art, Eleventh Avenue, New York (Chelsea), NY, Emily Harding Gallery, Carlaw Avenue, Toronto, Canada, and the Canadian Sculpture Centre, Distillery District, Toronto, Canada.

Read the full article in Art Market Magazine Issue #80