Artist Spotlight - Tom W. H. A. Sommerlatte
Tom Sommerlatte, In action
Biography
Tom pursued his natural sciences studies at the universities of Berlin, Rochester (New York), and Paris, while also attending fine arts classes at academies in each of these cities. After earning his PhD in radiation chemistry from the University of Paris, he focused on research and projects in artificial intelligence, knowledge management, and innovation strategy.
Ît is possible but difficult to cross London on an elephant, 1978, Oil on canvas, 46 x 33 cm
Throughout his travels in France, Scandinavia, Italy, Yugoslavia, Greece, and the USA, Tom refined his skills in drawing, etching, and oil and acrylic painting. His work often explores organic, corporeal, poetic, and at times, erotic forms, offering an alternative vision to a world marked by oppression and burden. His use of color—cool or warm tones—creates harmonious chromatic effects that balance between figuration and abstraction, allowing viewers to project their own thoughts and emotions.
^To protect their cause, the lone wolves rally together, 1981, Oil on canvas, 27 x 38 cm
Tom’s paintings have been showcased in galleries and museums across Berlin, Rochester, Munich, St. Petersburg, Klagenfurt, Wroclaw, Istanbul (Fatih), Gent, Tunbridge Wells, and Wiesbaden. A member of the Artists’ Collective 50, he also holds a professorship at the School of Fine Arts at the University of Kassel.
The subtleties of pessimism, 1981, Oil on canvas, 38 x 42 cm
Artist Statement
Visual art has been a constant in my life. Dominant traits of my artistic work have been openness and dedication. Openness towards artistic trends, in order to attain freedom of color and form. Freedom also in terms of being able to develop a world of ideas, from an inward, intellectual nature. Dedication to lightness, deeply cognisant of reality, to the intensity and sensual experience of color.
Thousand-and-one nights 2, 2007, Oil on canvas, 80 x 115 cm
Thousand-and-one-nights 1, 2007, Oil on canvas, 80 x 115 cm
Complex characters, 2022, Oil on canvas, 100 x 80 cm
Don Quijote and Sancho Panza, 2022, Oil on canvas, 100 x80 cm
Together, 2022, Oil on canvas, 80 x 80 cm
The making of a human, 2023, Oil on canvas, 80 x 60 cm
Myself and the world, 2024, Oil on canvas, 85 x 120 cm
Little center of the monade sytem, 1990, Etching, 25 x 35 cm
The charme of the topography, 1980, Etching, 25 x 35 cm
The last hours of a haughty day, 1980, Etching, 25 x 35 cm
Thousand-and-one night, 2024, Drawing, 60 x 80 cm
Artists' Collective 50, 2023, Oil on canvas, 80 x 100 cm
