Michael Tole

Study of Nymphs of Nysa

2019

Nancee Clark grew up in Jacksonville, Florida, with its then lush forests, raw beaches, the St. Johns River and the perfumes of the paper mill and the Maxwell House Coffee plant...

A Death of Sardanapalus is a revisionist history in which I reimagine the fall of the last Assyrian king, famously portrayed by Delacroix. In my reimagining, far from being passive victims, Sardanapalus’s concubines are about to perform a coup de gras, without him suspecting a thing. Full title is 'A Coalition of Willing Goddesses Topples Mars, Commonly Known as A Death of Sardanapalus' In my current work, The Revisionist Histories, I am writing letters to art history, literature, and mythology in an attempt to redress past wrongs, re-draw archetypes, and reflect the social changes that have reshaped our society over the past century. As part of this agenda, I explore the evolution of gender norms, power dynamics, and representation within Western visual culture and what this implies for the negotiation between pleasure, justice, and our culturally specific discourse on beauty. Oddly enough, this work is inspired in part by my pre-teen daughters’ growing musical interests which exposed me for the first time to the world of music videos (I had a sheltered childhood as my parents couldn’t afford cable TV). My daughters are primarily interested in pop divas...

The Concert appropriates and marries two disparate art historical references, Titian’s, The Flaying of Marsyas, and Barbara Kruger’s, You Construct Intricate Rituals Which Allow You to Touch the Skin of Other Men. This piece seeks to probe the source and nature of our discomfort with the nude male body. In our culture, the male body is rarely displayed as an object of beauty. When it is, it is automatically described as “homo-erotic,” a term that implies that it appeals only to a niche audience, and denies its relevance or potential appeal to society as a whole. To avoid our discomfort, male nudity...

Michael Tole is a figurative painter currently living in Tempe, AZ with his wife and daughters. A Texas native, most of his 20 year long career was spent...

Nymph V

Nymph I

J Louis is both an heir and a heretic; carrying on a rich artistic tradition while subtly challenging its conventions. Evoking the lush atmospherics of Impressionist masters, Louis's...

Reclining Nude figure