Tom de Freston, Julia and the Shark, 2020, Limited edition print on Hahnemuhle German etching paper bound to aluminium, 51.80h x 80w cm [detail]
Tom de Freston's practice is dedicated to the construction of multimedia worlds, combining paintings, film and performance into immersive visceral narratives. His work is exhibited widely, and has received significant critical acclaim. He has held various prestigious residencies and fellowships, including the inaugural Creative Fellowship at Birmingham University, the Levy Plumb Artist in Residence at Cambridge University, and a Leverhulme Artistic Residency. He is currently Artistic Director of Medicine Unboxed. Julia and the Shark, his collaboration with his wife, the novelist Kiran Millwood Hargrave, was shortlisted for Waterstones book of the year. His debut narrative non fiction book, Wreck was published by Granta in March 2022. Previous publications include graphic novels with Bloomsbury and Gatehouse Press.
Selected Works
Tom de Freston
At the Cliff Edge, 2021
Oil on canvas, 200 x 125 cm
Tom de Freston
Cliff Edge, 2021
Oil on canvas, 110 x 70 cm
Tom de Freston
Cave, 2021
Oil on canvas, 200 x 125 cm
Tom de Freston
Raft, 2021
Oil on canvas, 200 x 125 cm
Tom de Freston
Lens III, 2020
Mixed media on paper
29.3 x 17 cm, 46.5 x 34 cm (framed)
Tom de Freston
Lens VIII, 2020
Mixed media on paper
29.3 x 17 cm, 46.5 x 34 cm (framed)
Tom de Freston
Lens VII, 2020
Mixed media on paper
29.3 x 17 cm, 46.5 x 34 cm (framed)
Tom de Freston
Lens XIV, 2020
Mixed media on paper
29.3 x 17 cm, 46.5 x 34 cm (framed)
Tom de Freston
Mirror I (side 1 & 2), 2020
Mixed media in bespoke birchwood ply box, double sided, 120 x 120 cm
Tom de Freston
Mirror III (side 1 & 2), 2020
Mixed media in bespoke birchwood ply box, double sided, 120 x 120 cm
Tom de Freston
Wreckage I, 2021
Mixed media on canvas, 200 x 125 cm
Tom de Freston
Mirror II, 2021
Oil on canvas, 200 x 125 cm
Tom de Freston
Rupture, 2021
Oil on canvas, 200 x 125 cm
Tom de Freston
Gravity, 2021
Oil on canvas, 200 x 125 cm
Tom de Freston
Submergence, 2021
Oil on canvas, 200 x 125 cm
Tom de Freston
Lens, 2021
Oil on canvas, 200 x 125 cm
Tom de Freston
Opening, 2021
Oil on canvas, 200 x 125 cm
Tom de Freston
Darkness Visible, 2021
Oil on canvas, 200 x 125 cm
Tom de Freston
Fold, 2021
Oil on canvas, 200 x 125 cm
Tom de Freston
Submerge, 2021
Mixed media on paper
76 x 55.7 cm, 97 x 77 cm (framed)
Tom de Freston
Cartographies VI, 2021
Oil on canvas, 110 x 70 cm
Tom de Freston
Cartographies VIII, 2021
Oil on canvas, 110 x 70 cm
Tom de Freston
Divide, 2022
Oil on canvas, 32.8 x 20 cm
Tom de Freston
Crossing, 2022
Oil on canvas, 32.8 x 20 cm
Tom de Freston
Mirror, 2021
Mixed media on paper
76 x 55.7 cm, 97 x 77 cm (framed)
Tom de Freston
Gravity, 2021
Mixed media on paper
76 x 55.7 cm, 97 x 77 cm (framed)
Tom de Freston
Light, 2021
Mixed media on paper
76 x 55.7 cm, 97 x 77 cm (framed)
Tom de Freston
Step, 2021
Mixed media on paper,
21 x 41.7 cm, 38 x 31.8 cm (framed)
Tom de Freston
Ghost, 2021
Oil on canvas, 200 x 125 cm
Tom de Freston
Sink, 2021
Mixed media on paper
21 x 41.7 cm, 38 x 31.8 cm (framed)
Tom de Freston
Twins, 2020
Edding ink on paper
50 x 56 cm, 67.5 x 83.5 cm (framed)
Video
Exhibition History Highlights
2023 - ‘SMALL WORLDS,’ No 20 Arts, London, UK
- ‘AFTER BEFORE’, No 20 Arts, London, UK
2022 - ‘FROM DARKNESS’, No 20 Arts, London, UK
2019- ‘Truthtellers’, King's College London, UK
2018 - Lush HQ, London, UK
- ‘Demons Land’, Old Fire Station, Oxford, UK
2017 - ‘Demons Land’, Stowe National Trust, UK
- ‘Demons Land’, Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, UK
2016 - ‘Artist Bedrooms’ (permanent installation), Battersea Arts Centre, London, UK
- ‘0E’, 47/49 Tanner Street, London, UK
- ‘RSC (The Other Place)’, Birmingham University Creative Festival, UK
- ‘Shakespeare’s Dead’, Bodleian Library, Oxford, UK
- ‘Between somewhere and nowhere’, Museum of Classical Archaeology, Cambridge, UK
Awards and Residencies
2013- 2018 - Artistic Director, Medicine Unboxed
2016 - Birmingham University Creative Fellow
- Saboteur Award winner for ‘A Fool’s Worlds’
- Arts Council GFA for OE exhibition and performances
- AHRC/TORCH funding for Demons Land
2012 - Artist in Residence, The Expansionists, Whitstable
2010 - Leverhulme Artist in Residence, Cambridge University
2008 - Levy Plumb Visual Arts Residency, Christ’s College
Press Releases
2 June - 6 September 2023
AFTER BEFORE - Judith Burrows, Jo Dennis, Tom de Freston, Simon Kidd, Arthur Lanyon, Max Maxwell, Jhonatan Pulido, Keith Roberts11 January - 25 March 2023
FROM DARKNESS - Tom de Freston4 March - 18 June 2022
Publications
Exhibition Catalogues
Please contact the gallery at info@no20arts.com to enquire about a paper copy of any exhibition catalogue.
SMALL WORLDS
Exhibition catalogue, 2023
32 pages - Fully illustrated in colour,
8 1/2 x 8 1/2 inches (21 x 21cm)
AFTER BEFORE
Exhibition catalogue, 2023
22 pages - Fully illustrated in colour,
5.8 x 8.3 inches (14.8 x 21 cm)
FROM DARKNESS
Exhibition catalogue, 2022
32 pages - Fully illustrated in colour,
8 1/2 x 8 1/2 inches (21 x 21cm)
Bibliography
Wreck: Géricault’s Raft and the Art of Being Lost at Sea
Publisher: Granta Books, 2022
ISBN: 9781783786633
Number of pages: 352
Weight: 460 g
Dimensions: 216 x 135 x 24 mm
Leila and the Blue Fox
Publisher: Hachette, 2021
ISBN: 978 1 519 11027 4
Number of pages: 241
Dimensions: 220 x 160 mm
Julia and the Shark
Publisher: Hachette, 2020
ISBN: 978 1 510 10777 9
Number of pages: 192
Dimensions: 215 x 155 mm
Tom de Freston, Fold (2021), oil on canvas [Detail]