Tom Samek

Tom Samek was born in Prague and lived there until he was seventeen. As a young man he travelled extensively throughout Europe and lived in Germany, Switzerland and Austria before migrating to Australia in 1971. Although he has no formal art education his extensive resume, exhibition history and collections list indicate an artist of great diversity and immense skill. He describes himself as painter, sculptor, printmaker, mural artist, theatre set designer and film animator.

Tom’s gastronomic adventures and great appreciation for music are reoccurring motifs within his work. These offer the viewer a sensual metaphor where the every-day or inconsequential is transposed into complex universal themes. He is not afraid to touch the darker side of humanity, yet the easy nativity of his style belies the intensity of his subject. He is a master of the ‘one liner’, but like all good joke tellers, the punch line is only part of the fun, the other part is the individuality of style and masterful touch that we have come to know as Tom Samek.

Tom has exhibited extensively since 1971 including numerous solo exhibitions in Melbourne, Tasmania, Austria and Darwin. His collections include The National Gallery of Australia, Auckland City Gallery, New Zealand, Artbank, South Australian Art Gallery and the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery.