Library Mural Almost Complete
Tom has been working for the past 8 months on the mural for the Indianapolis Central Library in Downtown Indianapolis. Here are some progress photos. More to come in the coming weeks.
Biographical NotesTom Torluemke was born in Chicago in 1959 and raised in inner city neighborhoods. Currently, he lives and works in Hammond, Indiana where he moved with his family in 1992.
A distinguished Midwest artist and educator, he has been co-owner of Uncle Freddy's Gallery and Dorman + Torluemke, an arts facilitation and advocacy business in Highland, IN since 2002.
In a career spanning twenty plus years, he has proven to be a vital contributor on a national and local level, exhibiting regularly both in Chicago and throughout Indiana. His lengthy solo and group exhibition list includes The Inland See: Contemporary Art Around Lake Michigan , Curated by James Yood; Critic's Choice at Jan Cicero Gallery in Chicago; Present at the Hyde Park Art Center in Chicago; In the Company of Strangers at the Brauer Museum of Art, Valparaiso, Indiana; Bounce at the South Bend Regional Museum of Art in South Bend, Indiana; the Peace in the Arts Ba'hai International Peace Conference in San Francisco; the Alabama Watercolor Society Exhibition at the Birmingham Museum of Art; and the In Indiana series at the Indianapolis Museum of Art.
In April 2007, Torluemke was named a recipient of the Efroymson Contemporary Arts Fellowship ($20,000) for the period of May 2007 through April 2008. The Efroymson Contemporary Arts Fellowship was established to increase public awareness of contemporary art in Indiana. The intent of the fellowship is to reward creativity and encourage emerging and established artists by supporting their artistic development. The Efroymson Fund, a donor-advised fund of Central Indiana Community Foundation, makes the Efroymson Contemporary Arts Fellowships possible.
Torluemke is a versatile and prolific artist whose professional accomplishments include work in a variety of mediums - mural painting, stage design, mosaics, acrylic painting, watercolor, and sculpture. In 2007 Torluemke was commissioned to design and fabricate a 12' x 26' outdoor mosaic for Andrean High School in Merrillville Indiana. In 2006, Torluemke was commissioned to create 2 terrazzo floor designs (1,000 sq. ft. each) for the New Indianapolis International Airport, to be installed in early 2008.
During his career, he has been represented by several Chicago galleries, including R.H. Love and Abel Joseph, and is currently represented by Ruschman Gallery in Indianapolis, Indiana. He was invited to sit on a panel discussion of sexual imagery in art and advertising at Northwestern University in Chicago and has spoken on several occasions for the Indianapolis Museum of Art's Contemporary Art Society. His work has been viewed favorably by Hilton Kramer, a New York Times art critic, and reviewed by Chicago-based critic Fred Camper.
As an educator, he has served as a senior faculty member at the American Academy of Art in Chicago for twelve years, as an adjunct painting and drawing instructor at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and as an adjunct painting and drawing instructor at Valparaiso University.
He has taught at University of Chicago as a substitute teacher and at Northwestern University's Norris Center. Mrs. Maggie Daley and former First Lady Hillary Clinton praised his work in Chicago's Gallery 37 Project, a program for inner city youths aged 14-22.
Torluemke is an advocate for the educational role of the arts and for strengthening the social and civic bonds between young people and their communities. Through multiple public art projects, he has successfully used the visual arts as a means to train diverse groups of young people in life-affirming skills that allow them to realize their unique potential to improve society.
Most artworks on this site are available for sale. Please email inquiries or questions directly to the artist at tom@tomtorluemke.com. We accept paypal, visa and mastercard.
Forthcoming Exhibitions & Projects
2008
New Indianapolis International Airport, two terrazzo floor design commissions; A Work of Heart & The Glory of Sports in Indianapolis each design approximately 900 sq. ft.Tom Torluemke: Drawings, Indiana University Northwest, Gary, IN (solo)
Recent Exhibits
Students at Western Michigan University visiting the exhibit, The Inland See: Contemporary Art Around Lake Michigan, curated by James Yood.
Art writer, curator and critic, Kevin Freitas has a fresh art blog, check it out.
Link: http://www.artasauthority.com/See the latest interview with Tom click here
Tom in his studios & on location
Tom standing in front of his recently completed mural,
Teaching the Young to Fly in Terre Haute, IN
May, 2008Teaching the Young To Fly in Terre Haute, IN
Two weeks ago, Tom put the final strokes of paint on the mural in Terre Haute. Here are some photos of the finished piece. The mural dedication is scheduled for Saturday, June 7 at 2:00 p.m. at the Booker T. Washington Community Center 1101 S. 13th Street, Terre Haute.
All Are Welcome!
Airport Project almost complete.
The two terrazzo floor designs at the Indianapolis International Airport are just about complete minus the final buffing and waxing. The airport is scheduled to open in October 2008.
Tom speaks with reporters at a press conference at the New Indianapolis
Airport, February 14, 2008.
Craftsmen from Santarossa Mosaic & Tile, Indianapolis making A Work of Heart.
Tom draws The Glory of Sports terrazzo floor design to scale (40 x 40').
This process takes several days of drawing on his hands and knees or stooped
over as pictured above.
Below, Tom and assistant Jim McKern work on the drawing in the Purdue
University Calumet gymnasium as a girls volleyball team practices.
Time to bring the drawings to Indianapolis.
Tom and his high school art teacher and mentor, William Quast
on a recent visit from Canada. Tom still looks up to him.
Bishop Dale J. Melczek speaks at the Dedication of Tom's mosaic at Andrean High School.
A large crowd gathered at the dedication on Thursday, August 16, 2007.
Tom visits the Indianapolis Airport where he will be installing 2 terrazzo
floor designs in late 2007.
Tom Torluemke in his Hammond, IN studio.
Tom Torluemke in his Highland, IN studio.
