Tommy Mavra
Contact Information
Studio & Gallery
Philadelphia PA, 19148
Please contact artist for purchases, commissions, etc.
Painting
Artist's Biography
Tommy Mavra explores narratives relating to our relationship with the natural world through painting, drawing and sculpture. The work spans from solo series in drawing and sculpture to collaborative interdisciplinary projects in experimental film and sound design. Mavra is a first generation American and the first generation to grow up not depending on farming and fishing. The contrast of being taught to have a reverence for nature while living in urban and suburban environments is most likely where his interest in understanding our role in the world as it relates to life began. Each work questions agreed upon notions of morality and explores the magic and the mischief of life.
Artist's Statement
I am interested in how we negotiate our place in nature.
Technology, medicine, housing, farming, etc. are thought of as being artificial, yet they support the survival of our species. If survival is what motivates the actions of all living things, our “artificial” creations are also part of nature. However, no other animal has had the same impact on the ecosystem that we do. In the long term it seems that our inventions, intended to insure our success, could usher in the end of most life on Earth.
My work examines the paradoxical relationship mankind has with the natural world; its beauty and repulsiveness. Through painting, drawing, and sculpture I focus on narratives of daily life — our everyday interactions with animals, the food we eat and the things we buy — to reassess situations overlooked due to their banality. I dramatize these ordinary moments to encourage an investigation of our expectations and assumptions.
Writing fiction has become an increasingly significant component of my studio practice. Much of the visual work I make is contextualized by these fictions. Building out a world in which my work can exist allows for multiple points of entry for the viewer and provides myself references outside of the dominant art cannon.
Selected Exhibitions
2021
Magikal Beasts, Mystical Byways, Deja 42, Philadelphia, PA
2020
And Then I Wake Up, Exponential Festival, Brooklyn, NY
2019
Animals, Site:Brooklyn, Brooklyn, NY
2017
Commencement, Smack Melon, Brooklyn, NY
2016
Last Days of Kartika, HBO Urban Action Showcase, New York, NY
Our Voices, Medialia Rack Hamper Gallery, New York, NY
2014
Hero How To, Brick Comic Book Theatre Festival
2013
Fe"-Ma-Le, Budapest, Hungary
2010
Now & Next: Interdisciplinary Works, Tanz Haus NRW, Düsseldorf, Germany
2007
Bought the Farm, Morgan Art Space, Brooklyn, NY
2005
Riveted, Gallery Five, California State University, Long Beach, CA
2003
Complimentary Tangents, David Mah Gallery, Memphis, TN
Artist's Bibliography
2020
We Met in Memphis
2018
Average Art Magazine
2017
A5 Magazine, September
Professional Experience
2018 - Present
Urban Arts Partnership, New York, NY
Teaching Artist: Story Studio; EASE
2018 - 2019
Rasmussen College
Adjunct Professor
Awards & Honors
2017
Charles G. Shaw Grant
2016
Official Film Selection, Urban Action Showcase
Official Film Selection, Mecca Con
Space Grant, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
Subsidized Studio Space, A.R.T./New York Creative
Charles G. Shaw Grant
2012
Puffin Foundation Grant, Dusky Projects
2001
Sally Crump Byrnes Memorial Scholarship
2000
Myrtle Powell Bowld Traveling Fellowship
Education
2015 - 2017
Brooklyn College, Brooklyn, NY
MFA, Painting
1998 - 2002
Memphis College of Art, Memphis, TN
BFA, Sculpture
Recent Artist Member Mentions on InLiquid
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Nursery Rhymes for Questionable Times 
Nursery rhymes appear, on their surface, silly, merry chants handed down from one generation to the next. Their appeal resides … See Full Post
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Nursery Rhymes for Questionable Times
Nursery Rhymes for Questionable Times (NR4QT) is a whimsical summer exhibition showcasing stunning artwork from five local artists and transforms … See Full Post