This proposal from 2011 followed a series of collaborations between Michael Hettich and Tom Virgin. After working together in the SWEAT Broadsheet Project, Hettich and Virgin with contributions from Jay Bellicchi and Evan Robarts, worked on creating a series of billboards that merged poetry, visual art, the iconography of Miami, and their mutual concerns about [...]
As always, I am grateful for opportunities to propose for various institutions. The work in this gallery was created fully on paper and in a digital world, however it was not funded for completion in physical reality. I am quite fond of these pieces, and some came close to being realized.
Stilts and Cranes three watercut sculptures in cypress frame elements, benches, slate black board element, Stiltsville structure with roof 2007 This work was commissioned by Schools of Choice/Magnet Schools for an interior courtyard of one of the oldest schools in Miami Dade County Public Schools. Using the original blueprints from the school district and site [...]
Duty and Remembrance, ID Wall 16 ft x 12 ft x 6 in watercut aluminum with powdercoat 2006 Duty and Remembrance, Towers with Fire Fighter 8 ft x 3 ft x 4 ft watercut aluminum with powdercoat 2006 [...]
INDU Banner mesh banner 60 ft x 16 ft 2007-2008 In 2007 during the frenzy leading up to Art Basel/Miami Beach, Chris Ingalls of Ingalls & Associates offered me a wall. Delighted, I asked “where”? She pointed at the 60 ft x 16 ft wall on the west side of her gallery space. I was [...]
He Said, She Said 9 ft x 12 ft x 6 in 2008 This work came from a very old drawing, carefully preserved in my wallet for almost 20 years. The works both small and large are watercut PVC with fabric collage. It now resides in Gainesville, Florida in a private collection. The smaller work [...]
Escape 3: Sex, Drugs, and Rock & Roll 11 inches x 15 inches x .5 inc 2008 In this third and final volume of the Escape Series, the artist lands on Duval Street in Key West during a charming festival called Fantasy Fest. It is a [...]
Escape 2 11 inches x 15 inches x .5 inc 2004 Escape 2 picks up where “escape*… restrictions apply” left off, from the 7 Mile Bridge, headed west, geographically, and from my status as a solo traveler to becoming an honored guest of the native Florida Keys’ residents on my [...]
“escape*… restrictions apply,” 11 inches x 15 inches x .5 inc 2003 This is Tom Virgin’s first artist’s book. It is the first of three books examining the concept of “escape” in the context of a trip from Miami to the Florida Keys. During the course of [...]
The work pictured here is a series of prints taken from repeated trips to the Florida Keys, visiting a long time friend. Sadly, my friend has passed away, but the friendship and experience of seeing the Keys as a native still lingers. The works begin on Card Sound Bridge and move south and west to [...]