Satirical and macabre, the paintings of T.L. Solien are ambiguous and introspective. Familiar pop imagery is tossed up in a vague world of humor and drama. Born in Fargo, North Dakota, T.L. Solien enjoys a national reputation as an artist. He received his MFA in painting and sculpture from the University of Nebraska in 1977 and has since exhibited worldwide in museum exhibitions. His artworks can be found in numerous private and public collections worldwide including, the Tate Gallery in London, the National Gallery of Australia, the Singapore Art Museum, the Whitney Museum in New York, the Smithsonian Institute and the National Museum of American Art in Washington, D.C., the Art Institute of Chicago, the Milwaukee Art Museum, the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art, and the Minneapolis Institute of Art.
"Something about surrealism resonates with Midwestern experience. The quintessential Midwestern artist T.L. Solien has used it for the last 25 years to capture a sense of alienation and fragmentation in strangely beautiful works pervaded by dark humor." -S. Hagen, Philadelphia Citypaper, June 6, 2002
CAVE DWELLER, Oil and Enamel on Canvas, 60 x 72"
WATERLILIES, Mixed Media and Collage on Paper, 30 x 35"
THE BLEACHERS, Oil and Enamel on Canvas, 60 x 72"
THE JOCKEY, Mixed Media and Collage on Paper, 30 x 35"
THREE SON THAW, Mixed Media and Collage on Paper, 30 x 35"
CABIN CRUISER (Blue), Mixed Media Monoprint with Collage, 46 x 53"
EDITH STREET, Mixed Media and Collage on Paper, 30 x 35"
NIGHT RIDER, Oil and Enamel on Canvas, 60 x 72" (Collection of the Milwaukee Art Museum)
WHAT IS A MONOPRINT? A monoprint describes a print where there is a fixed image common to other prints, yet the uniqueness of the final work of art is captured through additive processes or color changes from print to print. In a monoprint, permanent marks are made on the plate which can be repeated from print to print in varying colors. To make the print a one-of-a-kind work of art, the artist can change the original image by adding more images with paint or drawing tools, or elements of collage.
Terrence Coffman
