Los Angeles-Based Artist Straddles The Line Between Traditional Art Forms And Graffiti

Roman Fine Art of East Hampton will host Tim Conlon’s debut exhibition Between the Lines. Viewers should expect a collection of the artist’s new paintings and train sculptures that are from a larger series entitled Blank Canvas, which is an exploration of freight train paintings that combine typography, abstraction and trompe-l’oeil.

Through the use of spray paint as a medium, Conlon creates pieces that bring railroad logos, weathered metal and paint, and the art of graffiti into close focus. With roughly 25 years of walking train lines and documenting the plethora of rail company cars, Conlon has immense experience with his subject. Between the Lines presents the findings of a rail archeologist, a topic largely untouched by the art world. The paintings of trains feature clean lines of manufactured steel and the organic beauty of oxidation with an overlay of modern day graffiti. Conlon straddles the world of urban art and the traditional gallery space to bridge ideas from work in the studio to pieces on the street. His goal is to build on the traditional techniques by using graffiti, helping his work appeal to a broad audience.

“#84-UP” oil on canvas, 2017. (Photo: Tim Conlon)

“Certain pieces that I’ve created depend on acrylics for effect and detail, but I try to work within the parameters or ‘rules’ of a graffiti artist: your work must show your ability to produce strictly from a can of spray paint or marker,” said Conlon. “A writer’s ‘can control’ is the most important painting skill to learn, so it has been important to me to continue evolving this technique on to canvas.”

Conlon lives and works in Los Angeles, California and is best known for his large-scale paintings, murals, and sculptures. In 2011, he was a featured artist and curated the G scale train exhibit in the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art’s, Art in The Streets survey of graffiti and street art. His Blank Canvas train paintings are in multiple collections including the Norfolk Southern Railway Corporation’s headquarters in Norfolk, Virginia. His work has been featured in museums and galleries in New York, Los Angeles, Miami, Washington DC, Chicago, San Francisco, Montréal, Paris, Bordeaux and Berlin.

Between the Lines will be on view from Friday, September 1 through Sunday, September 24, with an opening reception taking place on Saturday, September 2 from 6 to 8 p.m.

Roman Fine Art is located at 66 Park Place in East Hampton. For more information, call 917-797-8931 or visit romanfineart.com.