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Tom Uttech - Early Paintings - Exhibitions - Alexandre Gallery

Tom Uttech, Feeding the Pitcher Plant, 1971, oil on linen, 64 x 70 inches

Alexandre Gallery is pleased to present a selection of works by Tom Uttech from the early years of his career. The exhibition is comprised of ten paintings from the 1970s and related charcoal drawings, all based on the artist’s highly imagined forays into the northern woods of Wisconsin and Ontario. Included is work that was selected for the 1975 Whitney Biennial, which brought Uttech his first national attention.

Unlike Uttech’s work of the last twenty years, densely populated with realistic woodland creatures, these early large-scale, luminous paintings are highly imagined, even surreal. A phosphorous glow suffuses these magical landscapes, inhabited by biomorphic creatures and plants. Among them, we see anthropomorphic trees reaching into a technicolor sunset, a half- woman half-animal spirit hovering above an illuminated lake, and a mystical deer-headed creature floating on a pool of water among orange trout.

Uttech’s spiritual attachment to the transformative powers of nature is felt strongly here. Curator Robert Cozzolino writes for the accompanying exhibition catalogue:

Uttech’s image underscores the sensation some feel when they are the only human being alone deep in the forest. The increasing awareness that everything surrounding you is alive, is watching, is looking at you as you look at it. Each place you look reveals a shifted vista, a changed panorama, a living ecosystem constantly moving and growing, changing before your eyes.

These early fantastic images are different and more personal than his recent work, which speak to impending ecological crisis and have been described by critic Roberta Smith in a recent New York Times review as “magically transporting, and in one interpretation, disturbingly realistic.” They suggest Uttech’s deep enchantment with the wilderness, and present a spiritual realm in which to ruminate.

Installations

Installations Thumbnails
Photograph showing a corner view of an exhibition space with three paintings hanging on white walls
Photograph showing a corner view of an exhibition space with four paintings hanging on white walls
Photograph showing a corner view of an exhibition space with four paintings hanging on white walls
Photograph showing a corner view of an exhibition space with three paintings hanging on white walls
Photograph showing a front view of an exhibition space with three drawings and one painting hanging on white walls
Photograph showing a corner view of an exhibition space with five drawings hanging on white walls
Tom Uttech
Photograph showing a view of an exhibition space with two paintings hanging on a white wall
Photograph showing a front view of an exhibition space with a drawing hanging on a white wall over a side table and chair
Photograph showing a front view of an exhibition space with two paintings hanging on white walls
Photograph showing a view of an exhibition space with two drawings hanging on a white wall
Photograph showing a corner view of an exhibition space with three paintings hanging on white walls
Photograph showing a corner view of an exhibition space with four paintings hanging on white walls
Photograph showing a corner view of an exhibition space with four paintings hanging on white walls
Photograph showing a corner view of an exhibition space with three paintings hanging on white walls
Photograph showing a front view of an exhibition space with three drawings and one painting hanging on white walls
Photograph showing a corner view of an exhibition space with five drawings hanging on white walls
Tom Uttech
Photograph showing a view of an exhibition space with two paintings hanging on a white wall
Photograph showing a front view of an exhibition space with a drawing hanging on a white wall over a side table and chair
Photograph showing a front view of an exhibition space with two paintings hanging on white walls
Photograph showing a view of an exhibition space with two drawings hanging on a white wall

Selected Works

Selected Works Thumbnails
Surreal painting of mythical creature with human body and a moose's head emerging from the center of a flower, with a nocturnal landscape in the background and an orange partial moon overhead

Feeding the Pitcher Plant, 1971, oil on linen, 64 x 70 inches

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Surreal painting of a figure with a human body and a white moose's head lying on the ground in a nocturnal landscape, with abstract organic white forms in the air

Moth Eater, 1971, oil on linen, 74 x 70 inches

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Surreal painting of a figure with a human body and a deer head lying in a body of water full of small fish, with ducks floating on top and a night sky overhead

Aino and the Trout, 1972, oil on linen, 56 1/2 x 69 1/4 inches

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Surreal painting of a ghostly human figure with large antlers growing out of its shoulders, standing in the middle of a wintery landscape with a body of water in the background

Painting for Buckingham Lake, 1973, oil on linen, 70 x 73 3/4 inches

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Surreal diptych with mythical creatures in a psychedelic landscape with tree trunks covered in eyes throughout

Diptych (Untitled), 1974, oil on linen, 46 x 76 inches (each panel)

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Surreal diptych with a mythical creature with the body of a human and the head of a deer perched on a tree in the midst of a psychedelic landscape covered in animal skulls, with a waterfall in the background

Skull River Falls, 1975, oil on linen, 77 3/4 x 57 1/2 inches (each panel)

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Surreal landscape diptych with a white deer with large antlers on the left side, and a creature with the body of a human and the head of a deer crouching in front of a waterfall on the right side

Skull River Diptych, 1976, oil on linen, 75 1/2 x 59 1/4 inches (each panel)

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Surreal diptych of two forest scenes; a mythical deer-like creature with large antlers on the left side and a nude figure on the right side with a piece of tree bark over its face

Unlikely Partners, 1978, oil on linen, 59 3/4 x 46 3/4 inches (each panel)

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Surreal painting with a mythical creature with a human body and an animal head crouching on the ground, and an animal-like creature behind it in a psychedelic forest scene

Algoma Landscape, 1980, oil on linen, 64 3/4 x 72 inches

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Pastel drawing with a figure with a human body and animal head sitting on top of a large white moose, with a mythical animal-like creature standing behind them in a surreal forest scene

Untitled (#82), 1970, pastel on paper, 19 3/4 x 25 1/2 inches

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Pastel drawing with a creature with a human body and animal head facing the viewer, with a procession of large moose and other creatures walking through a surreal forest scene in the background

Untitled (#81), 1970, pastel on paper, 19 3/4 x 25 1/2 inches

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Pastel drawing with three nude figures with human bodies qnd animal heads sitting around a large moose in a surreal forest scene

Untitled (#86), 1970, pastel on paper, 19 3/4 x 25 1/2 inches

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Surreal drawing of a mythical tree-like creature sitting in a winter forest scene

Untitled (#35), 1974, charcoal on paper, 19 3/4 x 25 1/2 inches

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Surreal drawing of a forest scene with a nude figure standing in the background, and animal skulls in the surrounding trees

Untitled (#37), 1975, charcoal on paper, 19 3/4 x 25 1/2 inches

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Charcoal drawing of a surreal forest scene with a figure peeking out from behind a tree on the left and a skull in the trunk of a tree on the right

Untitled (#39), 1974, charcoal on paper, 19 3/4 x 25 1/2 inches

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Charcoal drawing of a surreal forest scene with a figure with a human body and animal head turning to face a group of tree-like creatures in the foreground

Untitled (#41), 1974, charcoal on paper, 19 3/4 x 25 1/2 inches

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Charcoal drawing of a surreal forest scene with a nude figure crouching in the foreground

Untitled (#42), 1974, charcoal on paper, 19 3/4 x 25 1/2 inches

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Charcoal drawing of a surreal forest scene with a nude figure standing in the shadows on the left and a white owl perched in a tree overhead

Untitled (#43), 1974, charcoal on paper, 19 3/4 x 25 1/2 inches

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Charcoal drawing of a mythical creature with the body of a human and the head of a deer holding a large pair of antlers with an eye in the center of it, standing in the middle of a surreal forest scene

Untitled (#44), 1974, charcoal on paper, 19 3/4 x 25 1/2 inches

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Charcoal drawing of a surreal forest scene with two figures with the body of a human and the head of an animal standing on either side of a large mound

Untitled (#44), 1974, charcoal on paper, 19 3/4 x 25 1/2 inches

Inquire
Surreal painting of mythical creature with human body and a moose's head emerging from the center of a flower, with a nocturnal landscape in the background and an orange partial moon overhead

Feeding the Pitcher Plant, 1971, oil on linen, 64 x 70 inches

Surreal painting of a figure with a human body and a white moose's head lying on the ground in a nocturnal landscape, with abstract organic white forms in the air

Moth Eater, 1971, oil on linen, 74 x 70 inches

Surreal painting of a figure with a human body and a deer head lying in a body of water full of small fish, with ducks floating on top and a night sky overhead

Aino and the Trout, 1972, oil on linen, 56 1/2 x 69 1/4 inches

Surreal painting of a ghostly human figure with large antlers growing out of its shoulders, standing in the middle of a wintery landscape with a body of water in the background

Painting for Buckingham Lake, 1973, oil on linen, 70 x 73 3/4 inches

Surreal diptych with mythical creatures in a psychedelic landscape with tree trunks covered in eyes throughout

Diptych (Untitled), 1974, oil on linen, 46 x 76 inches (each panel)

Surreal diptych with a mythical creature with the body of a human and the head of a deer perched on a tree in the midst of a psychedelic landscape covered in animal skulls, with a waterfall in the background

Skull River Falls, 1975, oil on linen, 77 3/4 x 57 1/2 inches (each panel)

Surreal landscape diptych with a white deer with large antlers on the left side, and a creature with the body of a human and the head of a deer crouching in front of a waterfall on the right side

Skull River Diptych, 1976, oil on linen, 75 1/2 x 59 1/4 inches (each panel)

Surreal diptych of two forest scenes; a mythical deer-like creature with large antlers on the left side and a nude figure on the right side with a piece of tree bark over its face

Unlikely Partners, 1978, oil on linen, 59 3/4 x 46 3/4 inches (each panel)

Surreal painting with a mythical creature with a human body and an animal head crouching on the ground, and an animal-like creature behind it in a psychedelic forest scene

Algoma Landscape, 1980, oil on linen, 64 3/4 x 72 inches

Pastel drawing with a figure with a human body and animal head sitting on top of a large white moose, with a mythical animal-like creature standing behind them in a surreal forest scene

Untitled (#82), 1970, pastel on paper, 19 3/4 x 25 1/2 inches

Pastel drawing with a creature with a human body and animal head facing the viewer, with a procession of large moose and other creatures walking through a surreal forest scene in the background

Untitled (#81), 1970, pastel on paper, 19 3/4 x 25 1/2 inches

Pastel drawing with three nude figures with human bodies qnd animal heads sitting around a large moose in a surreal forest scene

Untitled (#86), 1970, pastel on paper, 19 3/4 x 25 1/2 inches

Surreal drawing of a mythical tree-like creature sitting in a winter forest scene

Untitled (#35), 1974, charcoal on paper, 19 3/4 x 25 1/2 inches

Surreal drawing of a forest scene with a nude figure standing in the background, and animal skulls in the surrounding trees

Untitled (#37), 1975, charcoal on paper, 19 3/4 x 25 1/2 inches

Charcoal drawing of a surreal forest scene with a figure peeking out from behind a tree on the left and a skull in the trunk of a tree on the right

Untitled (#39), 1974, charcoal on paper, 19 3/4 x 25 1/2 inches

Charcoal drawing of a surreal forest scene with a figure with a human body and animal head turning to face a group of tree-like creatures in the foreground

Untitled (#41), 1974, charcoal on paper, 19 3/4 x 25 1/2 inches

Charcoal drawing of a surreal forest scene with a nude figure crouching in the foreground

Untitled (#42), 1974, charcoal on paper, 19 3/4 x 25 1/2 inches

Charcoal drawing of a surreal forest scene with a nude figure standing in the shadows on the left and a white owl perched in a tree overhead

Untitled (#43), 1974, charcoal on paper, 19 3/4 x 25 1/2 inches

Charcoal drawing of a mythical creature with the body of a human and the head of a deer holding a large pair of antlers with an eye in the center of it, standing in the middle of a surreal forest scene

Untitled (#44), 1974, charcoal on paper, 19 3/4 x 25 1/2 inches

Charcoal drawing of a surreal forest scene with two figures with the body of a human and the head of an animal standing on either side of a large mound

Untitled (#44), 1974, charcoal on paper, 19 3/4 x 25 1/2 inches