Tom Adair

Lives and works in Melbourne

Artist's CV

"Airbrush is like a refined form of graffiti, I have adapted this into something familiar yet new. For me it's the layering of neon and specialist framing that really gives a quality and brings my pieces to life."

Born in Melbourne in the eighties and immersed in graffiti subculture, Adair's refined exploration of medium, is a clear progression from an adolescence spent spraying walls with pressurised paint. The picture perfect homes dotted across flat dibond surfaces are a personal response to the illusion of the idyllic family home through the means of architecture influenced by a professional career focused around design and interiors.

Viewed from afar, the works appear as monochromatic colour images from the mid-century architecture era. Adair engages many processes while producing the romantic pieces, first documenting the dwellings using photography and digitally creating halftone renderings before spending countless hours meticulously airbrushing the works by hand.

The addition of hand bent neon lights are used to accent each structure and invite the viewer closer to a more intimate level where the swirling electricity and softness of the airbrush can be appreciated on a more personal level.

 

\ Artworks

Device Connected

2023 \ CMYK Polymer and LED Diorama, Oak Frame \ 210x120cm

Digital Dawn

2023 \ CMYK Polymer and LED Diorama, Oak Frame \ 130x175cm

HODL

2021 \ Airbrush on Aluminium Panel, American Oak Frame \ 30 x 30cm

Really Tho

2021 \ Airbrush on Aluminium Panel, American Oak Frame \ 120 x 120cm

Software Update

2023 \ CMYK Polymer and LED Diorama, Oak Frame \ 130x175cm

Statis state

2023 \ CMYK Polymer and LED Diorama, Oak Frame \ 240x135cm

Synchronicity

2020 \ Acrylic polymer and matte varnish on dibond with neon, oak frame (triptych) \ 150 x 113cm (each panel)

WYWH

2021 \ Airbrush on Aluminium Panel, American Oak Frame \ 30 x 30cm

\ News

Media

Are these contemporary artists the future of the market? AFR, 22 May, 2024

22 May 2024

by Elizabeth Fortescue 

 

 

 

[Leonard Joel's annual sale] Centum is important because the artworks are often by less established and younger artists with the potential to have market “longevity”. In other words, Leonard Joel believes these artists could help form the bedrock of the art market in future. 

 

Read more

\ Exhibitions featuring Tom Adair

Tom Adair

Technium Naturae

15 August — 30 August 2023

Tom Adair

New Romantics

14 December 2021 — 15 January 2022

9 x 5"

Group Exhibition

22 January — 6 February 2021

SUMMER SALON

Group Exhibition

16 December 2020 — 16 January 2021

Tom Adair

Weekender

18 November — 21 November 2020

Tom Adair

Chromatones

23 April — 14 May 2020

SPRING SHOW

Group Exhibition

10 September — 15 September 2019

BAMBI and Tom Adair

Tom Adair & Bambi

21 March — 30 March 2019

Contact Us

to find out more about Tom Adair.

12 - 14 Meagher Street Chippendale, NSW 2008
Opening Hours
Monday to Friday, 9am - 5pm Saturday, 11am - 4pm Summer Dates: The gallery will close on Friday 20 December and reopen on Monday 13 January, 2025 Closed Public Holidays (and Easter Saturday)