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Biography

LUIS TOMASELLO
[1915, Argentina - 2014, France]  

Born to an Italian family in La Plata, a province of Buenos Aires, Luis Tomasello’s first work experience was with his father as a bricklayer, carpenter, and painter. He began taking drawing classes in the evenings as a teenager and attended the Escuela de Bellas Artes Prilidiano Pueyrredón in Buenos Aires from 1932 to 1938. Two years later, he enrolled at the La Escuela Superior de Bellas Artes Ernesto de la Cárcova, where he studied until 1944. In the mid-1940s, young artists in Buenos Aires were challenging representational traditions in art; Tomasello met painters Emilio Pettoruti and Carmelo Arden Quin during this time, two important figures in the Argentine avant-garde.

In 1951, Tomasello traveled to Paris for the first time. He relocated permanently to Paris in 1957, joining a large and dynamic expatriate community of Latin American kinetic artists there.  Many of these artists began making constructivist abstract work and then shifted to kinetic and optical art in the mid-1950s and early 1960s. Tomasello is internationally known for his Atmospheres chromoplastiques, in which he poses white cubes on a white background to engage with the colors of shadows and reflected light. As well as exhibiting extensively internationally, Tomasello has completed numerous large-scale public art commissions in Argentina, France, Mexico, and the United States. His Chromoplastic Mural (2011) is on view at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City, Missouri, USA.

Tomasello’s works have been shown in selected exhibitions, including Afterimages: Geometric Abstraction and Perception, Akron Art Museum, Ohio, USA (2021); 12 Latin American Artists Today, Archer M. Huntington Art Gallery, The University of Texas at Austin, Texas, USA (1975); Luis Tomasello: Muestra Antologica, Centro Cultural Recoleta, Buenos Aires, Argentina (2009); Luis Tomasello, Rétrospective 1957-1990, Cercle Noroit, Arras, France (1991); Dynamo: A Century of Light and Motion in Art, 1913-2013, Grand Palais, Paris, France (2013); Konsekvens, Hommage a Olle Baertling (1911-1981), Liljevalchs Konsthall, Stockholm, Sweden (1981); Lumière et mouvement, Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, France (1967); Tomasello, Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, France (1976); Retrospective (1957-1972), Musée des Beaux-Arts, Pau, France (1972); Kinetika, Musée du XXe Siècle, Vienna, Austria (1967); Art d’Amérique Latine 1911-1968, Musée National d’Art Moderne - Centre Pompidou, Paris, France (1992); Manifeste, Musée National d’Art Moderne - Centre Pompidou, Paris, France (1993); Made in France, Musée National d’Art Moderne - Centre Pompidou, Paris, France (1996);

Tomasello y Espinosa: Around the Square,Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Buenos Aires (MACBA), Argentina (2019); Luis Tomasello, Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Rosario (MACRO), Argentina (2010); Retrospective (1957 – 1984), Museo de Bellas Artes, Pamplona, Spain, Palacio Municipal de Exposiciones Kiosco Alfonso, A Coruña, Spain, and Sala Parpalló, Valencia, Spain (1986); Retrospective (1957–1984), Museo Español de Arte Contemporáneo, Madrid, Spain (1985); The Illusive Eye, El Museo del Barrio, New York City, New York, USA (2016); Lo[s] Cinetico[s], Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía (MNCARS), Madrid, Spain (2007); Tomasello: Relieves, Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, Buenos Aires, Argentina (1962); Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, Buenos Aires, Argentina (2002); Luis Tomasello, Museum Haus Ludwig, Saarlouis, Germany (1996); North Looks South: Building the Latinamerican Art Collection,The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (MFAH), Texas, USA (2009); Constructed Dialogues: Concrete, Geometric and Kinetic Art from the Latin American Collection, The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (MFAH), Texas, USA (2012); Color into Light, Connecting Currents: Contemporary Art at the Fine Arts Museum Houston in the inaugural installation of the Nancy and Rich Kinder Building, The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (MFAH), Texas, USA (2020); The Responsive Eye, Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York City, New York, USA (1965); Paris du monde entier (Artistes étrangers à Paris dans la collection du Centre Georges Pompidou, 1900-2005), The National Art Center, Tokyo, Japan (2007); and Contemporary Art in Latin America and Japan, The National Museum of Art, Osaka, Japan (1981).

Tomasello’s works are represented in several major collections including Carnegie Institute of Technology, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Centre National d’Art Contemporain (CNAC), Paris, France; Centre Pompidou, Paris, France; Centro de Arte Contemporáneo Wifredo Lam, Havana, Cuba; Musée d’Art Moderne de Paris (MAM Paris), France; Musée de Grenoble, France; Musée National d’Art Moderne - Centre Pompidou, Paris, France; Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Rosario (MACRO), Argentina; Museo Moderno, Buenos Aires, Argentina; Museo de Arte Moderno de Medellín (MAMM), Colombia; Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía (MNCARS), Madrid, Spain; Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, Buenos Aires, Argentina; Museum für Konkrete Kunst (MKK), Ingolstadt, Germany; The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (MFAH), Texas, USA; Museum moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig Wien (mumok), Vienna, Austria; Museum Ritter, Waldenbuch, Germany; Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, Missouri, USA; New York University (NYU), New York City, New York, USA; Peter Stuyvesant Foundation, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; and Satoru Sato Art Museum, Tome City, Japan.

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Selected Exhibitions

2022
Repetitions, The Mayor Gallery, London, UK
Manuel Espinosa & Luis Tomasello, Sicardi | Ayers | Bacino, Houston, TX, USA
Light & Darkness, Power Collection, Chau Chak Wing Museum, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, Australia
Synergies: Geometric Art, Doral Contemporary Art Museum (DORCAM), Miami, FL, USA

2021    
Glowing Revelations: The Reliefs of Luis Tomasello, Ascaso Gallery, Miami, FL, USA
Afterimages: Geometric Abstraction and Perception, Akron Art Museum, Akron, OH, USA
Group Show: Luis Tomasello, Carlos Medina, and Victor Valera, among others, Ascaso Gallery, Miami, FL, USA
Unframed, Sicardi | Ayers | Bacino, Houston, TX, USA

2020
Color into Light, Connecting Currents: Contemporary Art at the Fine Arts Museum Houston in the inaugural installation of the Nancy and Rich Kinder Building, The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, (MFAH), TX, USA
The Grid in Modern Latin American Art, Sicardi | Ayers | Bacino, Houston, TX, USA

2019
Tomasello y Espinosa: Around the Square, Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Buenos Aires (MACBA), Argentina

2018
Latin American Works On Paper, The Mayor Gallery, London, UK

2017    
Luis Tomasello, Art Basel, The Mayor Gallery, Basel, Switzerland
Fruits de la passion, Entrepôt 9, Galerie Barnoud, Quétigny, France
Destination Latin America, Neuberger Museum of Art, Purchase, NY, USA
40th Anniversary, Twentieth Century Art Collection, 1977-2017, Museo de Arte Contemporaneo de Alicante (MACA), Spain
F11, Galerie Denise René, Espace Marais, Paris, France
Colori, Castello di Rivoli Museo d'Arte Contemporanea, Turin, Italy

2014    
Luis Tomasello: Six Decades of Reflection, The Mayor Gallery, London, UK; Borzo Modern & Contemporary Art, Amsterdam, The Netherlands 
Luis Tomasello, Artista de la Luz 1915-2014, Obras de la Colección del MACLA, Museu de Arte Contemporáneo Latinoamericano (MACLA), La Plata, Argentina

2013    
Luis Tomasello: Celebrated Artist, Asaso Gallery, PINTA, London, UK

2012    
Luis Tomasello, Galeria Raquel Arnaud, São Paulo, Brazil 
Luis Tomasello: Structure Visible et Couleur Réfléchie, Ascaso Gallery, Miami, FL, USA
Luis Tomasello: Vibrations de la Couleur, Galerie Argentine, Paris, France

2011    
Luis Tomasello, Sicardi Gallery, Houston, TX, USA

2010    
Luis Tomasello, The Mayor Gallery, London, UK
Luis Tomasello: La Luce Lavora Per Me, Kanalidarte Galleria d’arte Contemporanea, Brescia, Italy
Luis Tomasello, Museo Provincial de Bellas Artes Emilio A. Caraffa, Cordoba, Argentina 
Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Rosario (MACRO), Rosario, Argentina 
Luis Tomasello, Artista de la Luz, Museo Provincial de Bellas Artes Rosa Galisteo de Rodríguez, Santa Fe, Argentina 
Luis Tomasello and Alicia Penalba, Galería Hoy en el Arte, Buenos Aires, Argentina 

2009    
Luis Tomasello: Recent Work, Sicardi Gallery, Houston, TX, USA
Luis Tomasello: Muestra Antologica, Centro Cultural Recoleta, Buenos Aires, Argentina
James Harris Gallery, Seattle, WA, USA
Luis Tomasello: La Sustancialidad Intrínsica de la Luz, Casa de las Américas, Galería Latinoamericana, Havana, Cuba
James Harris Gallery, Seattle, WA, USA 

2007    
Luis Tomasello, Sicardi Gallery, Houston, TX, USA
Luis Tomasello, Fundación Federico Jorge Klemm, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Academia Nacional de Bellas-Artes, Buenos Aires, Argentina

2005    
Luis Tomasello, Sicardi Gallery, Houston, TX, USA

2004      
Muestra Antalógica de Luis Tomasello, Museo de Arte Contemporáneo Latinoamericano (MACLA), La Plata, Argentina

2003     
Luis Tomasello, Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes Neuquén, Neuquén, Argentina

2002    
Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes (MNBA), Buenos Aires, Argentina

2001    
Luis Tomasello, Objets et Atmosphères Chromoplastiques 1960-2000, Galerie Lavignes-Bastille, Paris, France
Luis Tomasello, Galerie Schoeller, Düsseldorf, Germany

1997    
Retrospective, Homenaje a Julio Cortázar, Centro Cultural Borges, Buenos Aires, Argentina

1996    
Luis Tomasello, Museum Haus Ludwing, Sarrelouis, Germany 

1995    
Luis Tomasello, Una Mano Enamorada, Galleria Civica, Palazzo Todeschini, Desenzano del Garda, Italy 

1994    
Luis Tomasello, Atmosfere Cromoplastiche oggi, Galleria Arte Struktura, Milan, Italy 

1992    
Luis Tomasello, Gallery K, Washington, D.C., USA
Tomasello, Reliefs, Galerie Convergence, Nantes, France 

1991    
Luis Tomasello, Rétrospective 1957-1990, Cercle Noroit, Arras, France

1990    
Luis Tomasello, Œuvres Anciennes et Récentes, Galerie Carlhian, Paris, France
Galerie Schoeller, Düsseldorf, Germany

1989    
Casa de las Américas, Galería Latinoamericana, Havana, Cuba
Galería Casa Fernando Gordillo, Managua, Nicaragua

1988    
Luis Tomasello, Œuvres Anciennes et Récentes, Galerie Carlhian, Paris, France

1987    
Tomasello, La Galería, Quito, Ecuador
Tomasello, Galerie Simone Signoret, Villefontaine, France

1986    
Retrospective (1957 – 1984), Sala Parpallo, Valencia, Spain
Palacio Municipal de Exposiciones Kiosco Alfonso, La Coruña, Spain
Museo de Bellas Artes, Pamplona, Spain

1985    
Retrospective (1957–1984), Museo Español de Arte Contemporáneo, Madrid, Spain 
Palau Solleric, Palma de Mallorca, Spain

1984    
Luis R. Tomasello, Galerie Nouvelles Images, The Hague, The Netherlands

1983    
Tomasellos, Reliefs Récents, Galerie Maximilien Guiol, Paris, France
Di Teana et Tomasello, Espace Latino-Américain, Paris, France

1981    
Tomasello, Cercle Noroit, Arras, France; Musée Réattu, Arles, France

1980    
Galerie Christel, Stockholm, Sweden 

1979    
Galería Edurne, Pedraza, Spain
Galerie Nouvelles Images, The Hague, The Netherlands
Galerie Interqua, Roermond, The Netherlands

1978    
Luis Tomasello, Galerie Latzer, Kreuzlingen, Switzerland

1977    
Tomasello, Vismara Arte Contemporanea, Milan, Italy 
Tomasello, opera recenti, Cesarea, Arte Contemporanea, Genova, Italy

1976    
Tomasello, Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville, Paris, France
Les Ateliers du Grand-Hornu, Galerie d’art, Hornu, Belgium 
Galerie Nouvelles Images, The Hague, The Netherlands
Galería Mestre Mateo, La Coruña, Spain

1973    
Tomasello, recent works, Galerie Denise René, New York, NY, USA
Galerie Françoise Mayer, Brussels, Belgium

1972    
Tomasello: Œvres Récentes, Galerie Denise René, Paris, France
Retrospective (1957-1972), Musée des Beaux Arts, Pau, France

1971    
Galerie Denise René/Hans Meyer, Düsseldorf, Germany 
Galleria del Cortile, Rome, Italy

1969    
Luis Tomasello, David Hendricks Gallery, Dublin, Ireland 

1965    
Tomasello, Galerie Denise René, Paris, France

1962    
Tomasello: Relieves, Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Luis R. Tomasello, Galerie Denise René, Paris, France 

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Selected Public Collections

Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, NY, USA

Arithmeum, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany

Atelier de Construction Electrique, Charleroi, Belgium

Bibliothèque Nationale de France (BnF), Paris, France 

Boca Raton Museum of Art, Boca Raton, FL, USA

Carnegie Institute, Pittsburg, PA, USA

Casa de las Américas, Havana, Cuba

Celanese Corporation, New York, NY, USA

Centre Georges-Pompidou, Paris, France

Centre National d’Art Contemporain, Paris, France

Cisneros Fontanals Art Foundation (CIFO), Miami, FL, USA

Design Unit, Chicago, IL, USA

Fondo Nacional de las Artes, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Fonds Régional d’Art Contemporain de l’Île-de-France, Le Plateau, France

Fundació Stämpfli, Sitges, Spain 

Fundación César Manrique, Teguise, Lanzarote, Canary Islands, Spain

Fundación Pettoruti, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Kröller-Müller Museum, Otterlo, The Netherlands

McCrory Corporation, New York, NY, USA

Musée d’Art Contemporain du Val-de-Marne (MAC/VAL), Vitry-sur Seine, France

Musée d’Art et Industrie, Saint-Etienne, France

Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville, Paris, France

Musée d’Art Moderne de Saint-Étienne Métropole, Saint-Étienne, France 

Musée de Grenoble, Grenoble, France 

Musée des Beaux-Arts, Pau, France

Musée National d’Art Moderne, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, France

Musée Réattu, Arles, France

Museo Bolivar, Caracas, Venezuela

Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Rosario (MACRO), Rosario, Argentina 

Museo de Arte Contemporáneo Latino-Américano (MACLA), La Plata, Argentina

Museo de Arte Contemporáneo, Alicante, Spain

Museo de Arte Moderno Jesús Soto, Bolivar, Venezuela

Museo de Arte Moderno (MAMBA), Buenos Aires, Argentina

Museo de Arte Moderno, Medellín, Colombia

Museo de Artes del Siglo XX, Medellín, Colombia

Museo de la Solidaridad Salvador Allende (MSSA), Santiago, Chile

Museo de Lanzarote, Canary Islands, Spain

Museo Español de Arte Contemporáneo, Madrid, Spain

Museo Jesús-Rafael Soto, Ciudad Bolívar, Venezuela

Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid, Spain

Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes Neuquén, Neuquén, Argentina

Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes (MNBA), Buenos Aires, Argentina

Museo Wifredo Lam, Havana, Cuba

Museum for Concrete Art, Ingolstadt, Germany

Museum Moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig (MUMOK), Vienna, Austria

Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (MFAH), Houston, TX, USA

Museum of Modern Art Ludwig Foundation, Vienna, Austria

Museum Ritter, Waldenbuch, Germany

Muzej Suvremene Umjetnosti (MSU), Zagreb, Croatia

New York University, New York, NY, USA

Peter Stuyvesant Foundation, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Power Gallery of Contemporary Art, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia

Satoru Sato Art Museum, Tome, Japan

Städisches Museum Schloss Morsbroich, Leverkusen, Germany

Tenerife Espacio de las Artes (TEA), Santa Cruz, Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain

The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, USA

Transcontinental Gas Pipeline Company, Houston, TX, USA

Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Hartford, CT, USA