Bibliography

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Mary McCarthy’s catalogue introduction to the exhibition Land and Longing at Solomon Fine Art | May 2022

Stepping into an artist’s studio is a privilege- one that as an arts worker, I never take for granted. As I approach Tom Climent’s studio, in the heart of Cork city, I smell paint, layers and layers of paint – I love that smell. My introduction to this new body of work Land and Longing begins before I literally enter. Tom’s place of work, his studio is productive and ordered, a place of physical work, of review, of self-challenge and consideration. Art doesn’t happen by chance. Artists generate ideas but they need space and time to develop and work on…

Cristín Leach’s catalogue introduction to the exhibition Everlast at Solomon Fine Art | July 2020

Cristín Leach’s catalogue introduction to the exhibition Everlast at Solomon Fine Art | July 2020 “When I’m working, I try to stay out of it.” Tom Climent, when he is working, is not thinking about particular places. The places he paints are nowhere and everywhere. One remarkable aspect of his work is that every painting feels like some place we might know.There has been a shift in these new paintings. There is more abundance and growth in them. They contain a faster set of shapes. The multi-faceted landscapes and built-looking structures of recent years, which shimmer and refract, sitting in…

Mark Ewart’s article Shifting Sands in The Irish Arts Review | Spring 2020

Mark Ewart’s Article Shifting Sands in The Irish Arts Review | Spring 2020 Tom Climent’s studio is situated in the heart of Cork City, amidst an enclave of old churches and sites of cultural and historical importance. One of these – the nearby Elizabeth Fort – is a physical and metaphorical exclamation – an imposing edifice overlooking the South channel of the river. This 17th century star-shaped structure, feels like it could be a touchstone for the artist, a 3-dimensional embodiment of his geometric paintings, similarly belonging to another time and place. And it is amongst the surrounding warren of…

Aidan Dunne’s review of Aspect at Solomon Fine Art in The Irish Times | May 2018

Aidan Dunne | Review of Aspect | Solomon Fine Art | The Irish Times | May 2018 One of the works in Tom Climent’s exhibition Aspect is titled, perfectly, Magic Mountain, evoking Thomas Mann’s classic novel of ideas. The main protagonist’s seven years spent in a sanatorium in the Swiss Alps, high above the “flatlands”, opens up a world of infinite speculation and possibility, before an ominous return to the conflict below. Mountains are the dominant motif in Climent’s paintings, which are built around the meeting of organic and geometric forms. The latter mostly comprise brightly coloured, geodesic dome-like constructions,…

Carissa Farrell’s catalogue introduction to the exhibition Aspect at Solomon Fine Art | 2018

Carissa Farrell | Introduction to Aspect | A catalogue accompanying the solo exhibition at Solomon Fine Art | 2018 Aspect continues Tom Climent’s exploration of the diminishing boundaries between landscape and abstraction by travelling further into fictional terrains of hybrid mountains, hills, uplands and plateaus. In previous groupings these features of the temperate Irish countryside seemed in harmony with Climent’s colourful and architectural interventions. This selection for the Solomon suggests a moment of separation between these two elements, a kind of fission that triggers the release of energy into the atmosphere. This activated geography is a less hospitable place that…

Carissa Farrell’s review of Latitudes at the Dunamaise Arts Centre in The VAI news sheet | February 2018

Carissa Farrell | Introduction to Aspect | A catalogue accompanying the solo exhibition at Solomon Fine Art | 2018 Aspect continues Tom Climent’s exploration of the diminishing boundaries between landscape and abstraction by travelling further into fictional terrains of hybrid mountains, hills, uplands and plateaus. In previous groupings these features of the temperate Irish countryside seemed in harmony with Climent’s colourful and architectural interventions. This selection for the Solomon suggests a moment of separation between these two elements, a kind of fission that triggers the release of energy into the atmosphere. This activated geography is a less hospitable place that…

Cristín Leach’s review of Latitudes at the Dunamaise Arts Centre in The Sunday Times | February 2018

Cristín Leach | Review of Latitudes | Dunamaise Arts Centre | The Sunday Times | February 2018 Cork-Based painter Tom Climent has been honing his approach to abstraction for more than 20 years. This show which features fantastical landscapes in which mountains and rocky outcrops take the form of multifaceted geometric structures. They sit under pink, purple or turquoise skies, jewel-like, in shades of cerise pink, green, orange, blue and golden yellow. Climent is a remarkable colourist. His work is quietly uplifting, even spiritual. It offers a glimpse into another beautiful and majestic dimension. The paintings have one-word titles. Plume…

Niall MacMonagle’s article What Lies Beneath on the painting Meridian by Tom Climent in The Sunday Independent | 2016

Niall MacMonagle | What Lies Beneath | Meridian by Tom Climent | The Sunday Independent | 2016 The sun, that 4.6 billion-year-old, far-away ( 149 million kilometres away ) burning star, and now 300 degrees hotter than it was when it was born doesn’t always deliver. Irish summers are hit-and-miss; ones, when the sun shone all the time, are still remembered. 1976 was good. On 29 June that year Boora, County Offaly, saw 32.5 degrees Celsius, the highest recorded 20th-century temperature on this island. Tom Climent’s recent work contains sunshine. Born and based in Cork, he says: “My father is from Valencia,…

Mark Ewart’s catalogue introduction to the exhibition In its Reflection at Solomon Fine Art | 2016

Mark Ewart | Introduction to In its Reflection | A catalogue accompanying the solo exhibition at Solomon Fine Art | 2016 Tom Climent is an archetypal ‘painters’ painter’. His work evolves from an intensive process of constructing and de-constructing surfaces, until a harmonious balance of colour and texture is achieved. And like any artist who pays serious attention to the tactility of paint, Climent’s work firstly captures the viewers’ attention from a distance and then rewards that interest, when the work is studied up close. Such fidelity to the painted surface is not to suggest for one moment that Climent is defined…

John P O’Sullivan’s review of Season Map at The Gallery Room @ Liss Ard Estate in The Sunday Times | 2015

John P O’Sullivan | Review of Season Map | The Gallery Room @ Liss Ard Estate | The Sunday Times | 2015 The glorious gardens of Liss Ard Estate in Skibbereen boast James Turrell’s Sky Garden, arguably the most spectacular piece of public art in the country. This summer there’s an additional reason for art lovers to visit – a large and impressive exhibition by Tom Climent. He’s yet another Cork artist whose work is inclined to blush unseen due to the recent closure of the city’s two commercial galleries – the Fenton and the Vanguard. Climent’s initial momentum – through a…

Carissa Farrell’s article Consolitated Practice in the Visual Artists Ireland News Sheet July/August | 2014

Carissa Farrell | Consolitated Practice | Visual Artists Ireland News Sheet July/August | 2014 In April this year, I took part in an Ask the Artist event at the Luan Gallery, Athlone, with artist Tom Climent. We sat in the gallery with an audience and engaged in conversation about his exhibition, Vessels, and wider his practice as an artist. Following this we corresponded by email for this article. In the early 1990s Climent had been studying engineering while taking night classes at the Crawford College of Art with the late Jo Allen whose influence encouraged him to go further. In his third year of engineering…

Mark Ewart’s review of A Place Found at the Sternview Gallery in The Irish Examiner | 2014

Mark Ewart | Review of A Place Found | Sternview Gallery | The Irish Examiner | 2014 Tom Climent has built a solid reputation for paintings that seduce the eye, and compositions that smoulder with theatrical tension and atmosphere. The energy and expressiveness of early work has come to be replaced by a calmer and more contemplative mood, as the artist now utilises subtle layering of muted colour and texture. Indeed, this collection of oil on canvas paintings suggests the artist is at his peak. Climent’s subject matter centres on anonymous architectural forms that rest within spatial environments that are correspondingly indistinct…

Cristín Leach Hughes’s review of Final State at the Blueleaf Gallery in The Sunday Times | 2012

Cristín Leach Hughes | Review of Final State | Blueleaf Gallery | The Sunday Times | 2012 One of the great joys of looking at painting lies in observing how the artist handles colour. The abstract architectural structures in Tom Climent’s compositions shimmer in a place where green and pink meet orange, and russet red dances with purple-violet blue. Climent incorporates plaster into the larger canvases. In Mountain Machine, it forms a floating ceiling with the texture of cracked lava above a cool interior. Walls appear to shift and slide with dreamlike inevitability; their soft, blurred edges imply a slow, tentative settling that…

Margaret O’Brien’s article on Tom Climent in the magazine Irish Interiors | 2010

Margaret O’Brien | Irish Interiors Magazine | 2010 Tom Climent’s paintings have an arrestingly luminosity. It’s a quality that reels in the viewer, compelling them to stop, and stare into the soul of his vibrant work. In recent years many of those in the know in the Irish art world, have tipped the Cork based artist as ‘one-to-watch’, but arguably Tom Climent has now arrived. A recipient of the Tony O’ Malley Award and the Victor Treacey Award, Tom Climent’s work already features in prestigious collections, including The Central Bank, UCC, AIB Bank, The Office of Public Works and NCB…

Robert O’Byrne’s essay on Tom Climent for the Dictionary of Living Irish Artists | 2009

Robert O’Byrne | Dictionary of Living Irish Artists | 2009 Few young artists of late have caused such excitement at their debut as Tom Climent. But then again, few young Irish artists begin their painting career by offering his kind of stirring exuberance. Within a year of graduating from Cork’s Crawford College of Art and Design, Climent had won the Victor Treacey Award for emerging artist and begun to garner widespread critical accolades. At the time of his first solo exhibition in Dublin in August 1997, the Sunday Business Post’s Marion McKeone declared, ‘ It’s difficult not to eulogise Climent’s work; lush…

Alannah Hopkin’s essay on Tom Climent for Representing Art in Ireland, The Fenton Gallery Book | 2008

Alannah Hopkin | Representing Art in Ireland | The Fenton Gallery Book | 2008 Tom Climent can create spectacularly dramatic paintings. With a characteristic and impressive use of chiaroscuro, areas of darkness are counter-balanced by vibrant colour. For him, the process of painting is both spontaneous and meditative, informed by his knowledge of art history yet not constrained by it. His art speaks directly to the emotions of the viewer, and avoids the predominant preoccupation of postmodern practice, such as irony, repetition, or references to popular culture. Climent’s early work consisted of interiors painted in a loose, gestural style, sometimes…

Vera Ryan’s essay; An Artist in the Painterly Tradition, on Tom Climent for Decade ( A retrospective catalogue published in 2006)

Vera Ryan | An Artist in the Painterly Tradition | Essay for Decade ( A retrospective catalogue published in 2006) Tom Climent’s stunning degree show in 1995 showed great promise. Many degree shows do that but not every graduate is able to susain their practice or their promise. Nonetheless, many people were quietly optimistic about Tom and correctly so. Ten years on, his work is still enthralling and he has extended his vocabulary in new ways. He works in the painterly tradition. The earlier paintings were anchored in response to great masterpieces of the Western canon, seen in reproduction by Tom. Whether…

Brian Fallon’s introduction to Decade (A retrospective catalogue published in 2006)

Brian Fallon | Introduction to Decade (A retrospective catalogue published in 2006) TOM CLIMENT is a highly individual artist, still relatively youthful, who is rather out of step with current fashion and is all the better for that. Instead of playing cerebral games with his material, he paints for the love and also – I should say – for the fun of it. I have tracked his progress, intermittently, since I awarded him the Victor Treacy Prize some years ago, against talented competition. Since then his style has changed to a certain extent, outwardly if not in essentials. Broadly speaking, it stresses…

Nikki Walsh’s article Rising Stars (Just who will be the big names in tomorrow’s art world ) in Select Magazine | 2005

Nikki Walsh | Rising Stars | Select Magazine | 2005 Just who will be the big names in tomorrow’s art world? Predicting who will make it in the art world isn’t easy. When we approached Nuala Fenton of the Fenton gallery, Kevin Kavanagh of the Kevin Kavanagh gallery, auctioneer and valuer Ian Whyte and portraitist James Hanley RHA for the inside track on who to watch, they were spoilt for choice. “There are so many good artists out there,” says Nuala Fenton. They had their reservations too. “It’s not just a question of talent,” says Ian. “There are trends in the art…

Mark Ewart’s review of New Paintings at the Fenton Gallery in The Irish Times | 2003

Mark Ewart | Review of New Paintings | Fenton Gallery | The Irish Times | 2003Over a relatively short period of time, Tom Climent has achieved a considerable amount as a painter, picking up a number of high-profile plaudits along the way. What is most striking about Climent’s paintings is the way in which they declare a dramatic physicality while conversely appearing to be quite subtle in their ambition. The ‘action within appears transitional, a moment frozen, where the players have vacated the stage, and we are left in their absence to inhabit a strange, discordant place. Within these spaces Climent allows…

Alannah Hopkin’s review of New Paintings at the Fenton Gallery in The Irish Examiner | 2003

Alannah Hopkin | Review of New Paintings | Fenton Gallery | The Irish Examiner | 2003 Another brush with Climent TOM CLIMENT is known for the large scale of his painting, and his new show at Fenton Gallery Cork (Wandesford Quay, February 7 to 28) runs true to form. The largest work, Obscura, is nine feet by five, and several of the others have one side measuring six feet. I spoke to Climent shortly after the paintings had been trans-ported from his studio on Sullivan’s Quay to the gallery. It was the first time the artist had been able to view all 10…

Alannah Hopkins’s review of Tom Climent’s exhibition as part of Cork Arts Fest in The Irish Examiner | 2000

Alannah Hopkins | Cork Arts Fest | The Irish Examiner | 2000 Tom shows his strength by hitting the canvas Tom Climent was the featured artist of Cork Institute of Technology’s Arts Fest 200. His new work was at Gallery 44, MacCurtain Street, Cork, and consisted of five large works in oil and acrylic, two series of abstracts and a pair of watercolours. Since graduating from the Crawford College of Art in 1994, Tom has been painting full-time and his works, generally on a very large scale, are much sought after by collectors. The new series marks a change of direction, towards…

Mark Ewart’s review of Tom Climent’s exhibition as part of Cork Arts Fest in The Irish Times | 2000

Mark Ewart | Cork Arts Fest | The Irish Times | 2000 Now in its eight year, Cork Institute of Technology’s Arts Fest offers a diverse mix of activities including music, literature, theatre and film. On the visual arts front, four exhibitions are each scheduled for rather short runs, including an extremely evocative body of work by Ben Riley showing at the Sirius Arts Centre in Cobh. It is Tom Climent, though, who is the feature artist of the festival — a move all the more welcome considering that this exhibition is a return to from after his last solo show two…

Hillary Pyle’s article on the Tom Climent, the Tony O’Malley Award Winner 1998 in The Irish Times | 1998

Hillary Pyle | Tony O’Malley Award Winner | The Irish Times | 1998 Innocent desire of award winner CORK-BASED artist Tom Climent has been announced as winner of the inaugural Tony O’Malley Award at the James Joyce Centre in Dublin. Over 40 painters from north and south of Ireland submitted work to Kilkenny’s Butler Gallery with proposals as to what they would do with the £2,000 travel grant, meaning stiff competition for the young Cork artist. Runners-up Barbara Freeman from Belfast, who has been transcribing musical compositions by Cage and Messaien into colour and space, and Robert Armstrong, imaging water…

Alannah Hopkins’s review of Dancing Parade at the Triskel Arts Centre in The Sunday Times | 1998

Alannah Hopkins | Review of Dancing Parade | Triskel Arts Centre | The Sunday Times | 1998 To say that Dancing Parade consists of a series of paintings inspired by Degas gives little idea of what an exciting achievement it is. Al the works are, broadly speaking, variations on that familiar image of the ballerina at the barre. Climent’s ballet dancer is more abstract than the Degas figure and is often suggested by an almost transparent play of planes and light as in The Swan Dancer, left. The studio is painted in shades of green and yellow, and a panel of light on the left…

Isabel Healy’s review of Dancing Parade at the Triskel Arts Centre in The Irish Examiner | 1998

Isabel Healy | Review of Dancing Parade | Triskel Arts Centre | The Irish Examiner | 1998 Tom Climent’s new exhibition is a move to more subtle work by the popular artist MORE than almost any other artist emerging from Cork, Tom Climent has a loyal following. Even before he graduated from the Crawford College of Art in 1995, Tom was already exhibiting, and his large, vibrant canvases, influenced by Velasquez and Goya, were selling well. In 1996 he won the Victor Treacy Award from the Butler Gallery in Kilkenny and in 1997 the Tony O’Malley Award and a residency in Lithuania.…

Ciara Ferguson’s review of Pure at the Temple Bar Gallery & Studios in The Sunday Independent | 1997

Ciara Ferguson | Review of Pure | Temple Bar Gallery & Studios | The Sunday Independent | 1997 Celebrating Climent One could be suspicious of the amount of hype surrounding 27-year-old Cork artist Tom Climent. After all this is his first show in Dublin and he is only two years out of the Crawford College. But that wouldn’t be fair. Having seen the exhibition in the Temple Bar Gallery I see what the fuss is about. While Climent himself is quiet and reserved, and apparently uncomfortable with the attention, his canvasses tell a different story. Vibrant and luscious layers of colour, semi-abstract,…

Marion McKeone’s review of Pure at the Temple Bar Gallery & Studios in The Sunday Business Post | 1997

Marion McKeone | Review of Pure | Temple Bar Gallery & Studios | The Sunday Business Post | 1997 Terse? Grim ? Tom ? No Those in search of the heady, sultry feel that kinder climates evoke shouldn’t rely on the cantankerous Irish climate; a visit to the Temple Bar Gallery and Studios next week is a far better option. Tom Climent is a young artist for whom many are predicting great things. Small wonder. At a time when the work of many young abstract artists is depressingly terse and grim, his exuberant , larger than life canvases, awash with colour and…

Brian Fallon talks to Tom Climent, the young painter he nominated to exhibit at the Temple Bar Gallery, and last year’s winner of the Victor Treacy Award in The Irish Times | 1997

Brian Fallon | Pure | Temple Bar Gallery & Studios | The Irish Times | 1997 Brian Fallon talks to Tom Climent, the young painter he nominated to exhibit at the Temple Bar Gallery, and last year’s winner of the Victor Treacy Award. Tom Climent’s one man exhibition is virtually his introduction to Dublin viewers; his career up to this had cenred on Cork, his native city, where he still lives and works. The breakthrough came with last year’s Victor Treacy Award in Kilkenny (incidentally, I was the judge on that occasion) which he won from an exceptionally strong entry. His present…

Tina Neylon’s article The picture tells a story on Tom Climent in The Irish Examiner | 1996

Tina Neylon | The Irish Examiner | 1996 The picture tells a story TOM CLIMENT is only 26, yet is beginning to make a mark for himself as a painter. I was studying engineering and attending night classes in painting at the same time, when suddenly it just seemed to make more sense,” he says. “At school I enjoyed painting, but I didn’t feel I was good enough to do it full-time, but then I found I was spending more time at it than anything else”. He studied at the Crawford College of Art from 1991 -95. He hadn’t regretted…

Rosemary Hamilton’s article on Tom Climent the winner of the Victor Treacy Award for 1996 in The Butler Gallery | The Irish Examiner | 1996

Rosemary Hamilton | The Butler Gallery | The Irish Examiner | 1996 Artist Tom Climent is the winner of the Victor Treacy Award for 1996. The Best Emerging Artist was chosen by Brian Fallon and announced at the Butler Gallery in Kilkenny. Climent was one of six young artists invited to exhibit at the annual award show which is a showcase for young emerging artists, sponsored by Carlow business man Victory Treacy, of Victor Treacy International. Tom Climent grew up in Douglas, Cork. He studied at the Crawford College and has exhibited two solo shows in his home county, and…