contact details
email: t.r.o-sullivan@rgu.ac.uk
tel: 00 44 (0)1224 263521

web site:
www.themoderninstitute.com
www.galeriefrancescapia.ch
www.suttonlane.com
www.scottisharts.org.ukwww.momentum.no
www.galerie-ruediger-schoettle.de
www.smartprojectspace.net

TOM O'SULLIVAN

Biographical Statement

Tom O’Sulllivan became a research fellow at Grays School of Art in 2003 and has worked in collaboration with the artist and researcher Joanne Tatham since 1995. He studied Fine Art at Leeds University and Glasgow School of Art and is a visiting lecturer at a number of higher education institutions.

He has exhibited both nationally and internationally and in 2005 his was one of three practices invited to represent Scotland at the 51st Venice Biennale. This exhibition subsequently toured to the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art. Other recent projects include commissions for Momentum, the 2006 Nordic Biennale, and a major commission for The National Collecting Scheme of Scotland at Newhailes house in Musselburgh.

He is represented by a number of galleries, including The Modern Institute in Glasgow. Joanne Tatham and Tom O’Sullivan have work in the collections of the Arts Council of England and the Museum of Modern Art, New York .

Personal Statement

I work in collaboration with the artist and researcher Joanne Tatham. Our research and practice is an investigation into the languages of contemporary art through the making and exhibiting of contemporary art. We understand this as a critical practice that seeks to disrupt and question how meaning is thought about in contemporary art. Our research is achieved through public exhibition where a viewer encounters an object and /or situation, which in turn provokes critical reflection on this experience.  We understand our research context as being made up of the various discourses that inform the manufacture and reception of contemporary art.

Recent Solo exhibitions/projects:

Tatham, J. and O'Sullivan, T. (2010) Direct serious action is therefore necessary Centre for Contemporary Arts, Glasgow. Funded by CCA and Henry Moore Foundation. Review in Afterall (online).

Tatham, J. and O'Sullivan, T. (2009) Does your contemplation of the situation fuck with the flow of circulation Eastside Projects, Birmingham.Funded by Arts Council England, Birmingham City University, Elephant Trust. Exhibition review in Map and Guardian (online). Accompanied by a publication.

Tatham, J. and O'Sullivan, T. (2009) You can take it as a thing or you can take it as a thing La Salle de Bains, Lyon. Funded by Culture Ministry DRAC Rhone-Alpes and Ville de Lyon. Exhibition review in Zeroquatre.


Recent Group Exhibitions:

Tatham, J. and O'Sullivan, T. (2010) British Mythic 'Le Drapeau Noir', Glasgow International.

Tatham, J. and O'Sullivan, T. (2009) Is this what brings things into focus? 'From Dusk Till Dawn', Van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven.

Tatham, J. and O'Sullivan, T. (2009) The story of how we came to be here, what we did before we got here, how you have forgotten why you asked us here and why we cannot remember why we came, or: Is this what brings things into focus 'Blinding the Ears; the Theatre project', Artissima at Teatro Gobetti, Turin. Exhibitors included Michelangelo Pistoletto and Matt Mullican. Accompanied by a publication. Commission funded through Artissima (10,000 euro). Article in Kaleidoscope.Touring to Tramway, Glasgow (2010).

Tatham, J. and O'Sullivan, T. (2009) Three Mean Leanings 'Depression', Marres Centre for Contemporary Culture, Maastricht. Exhibitors included Sherrie Levine and Jim Shaw. Exhibition review in Metropolis M.

Tatham, J. and O'Sullivan, T. (2009) The Vernacular, the Particular and the Perpendicular 'Tonite', The Modern Institute, Glasgow. Exhibitors included Richard Wright and Martin Creed.

Tatham, J. and O'Sullivan, T. (2009) You can take it as a thing or you can take it as a thing 'Back of the Head: Alternative Approaches to Portraiture', Cooper Gallery, University of Dundee.

Tatham, J. and O'Sullivan, T. (2009) One of the Things from Think Thingamajig and Other Things 'N'importe Quoi', Musee d'art Contemporain de Lyon. Exhibitors included Jessica Stockholder and Ugo Rondione. Supported by Culture Ministry DRAC Rhone-Alpes and Ville de Lyon. Accompanied by a publication.