Tommy Hollenstein

Last updated
Tommy Hollenstein
Guitarist Slash with artist Tommy Hollenstein.jpg
Tommy Hollenstein with guitarist Slash
Born
Los Angeles, California
NationalityAmerican
Known forPainting, sculpture
Movement Abstract impressionism
Patron(s) Ringo Starr, Elton John, Slash, Reebok, Ackerberg Collection

Tommy Hollenstein is an American abstract impressionist painter and found object sculptor. A lifelong quadriplegic, Hollenstein has become a highly respected disabled artist who utilizes the tires of his wheelchair instead of traditional painting methods to create his works. [1] Hollenstein has numerous celebrity and art collector patrons, and his art has appeared in numerous private and public installations throughout the United States. He is also involved in philanthropy, donating paintings and the proceeds of his sales to numerous charitable organizations.

Contents

Biography

Hollenstein, the son of a restaurateur father and an ex-Marine Corps mother, was raised in Canoga Park, in the San Fernando Valley region of the Los Angeles Metropolitan Area. As a young man, Hollenstein was an enthusiast of extreme sports, and enjoyed skateboarding, surfing, and mountain biking. [2] He took an interest in the arts as well, making his first inroads into artistic work in creating edible art from watermelons. He also trained to become a private detective. [3]

On March 10, 1985, Hollenstein was involved in a bicycling accident that broke his neck, causing him to become a C4/C5 quadriplegic and confining him to a wheelchair. While recovering from the injury, Hollenstein was introduced to mouth stick painting, which he rejected because he felt it was too restrictive. Hollenstein initially began working as a private investigator assigned to missing persons cases, and eventually moved over to working on modified service vans for disabled people. [3] [4]

Hollenstein began painting through an incident involving a service dog. Hollenstein's service dog had had a stroke, and Hollenstein wanted to memorialize the dog by creating a painting that places the dog's paw prints next to the tracks of his wheelchair. Hollenstein created two paintings featuring the dog's footprints next to his wheelchair tracks, [5] [6] upon which he realized that he could use the tires of his wheelchair to paint instead of brushes. He then built a studio and began working on paintings at night. Hollenstein began shopping his paintings to art dealers and had his first solo exhibition in 2005. [7]

Artistic style

Hollenstein works in an abstract impressionist style which incorporates bright colors and often invokes a sense of motion. [8] Hollenstein credits Jackson Pollock and Claude Monet as major influences, and is in particular a disciple of Monet's Rouen Cathedral series. Hollenstein also credits his Christian faith as an inspiration in his work, and has created several works with inspirational themes. [9]

Hollenstein's works utilize Behr house paints [10] and pretreated Masonite boards. [3] He brushes paint onto the wheels of his wheelchair, and then uses the wheels to paint the boards, applying layers of color over top of each other over a period of time. The number of layers in a painting will vary from three all the way up to fifty. Some of Hollenstein's paintings feature noticeable tire track patterns, and others utilize bald tires and other techniques that make it difficult to tell that the art was created with the tires of a wheelchair. Hollenstein gives most of his finished paintings a one-word title that represents the painting's theme. [4] Hollenstein then uses his leftover brushes and dipsticks to create found object sculptures. [2]

Patrons

Hollenstein's patron list includes numerous celebrities in the music and entertainment fields. Actor Joaquin Phoenix became an early celebrity patron when he purchased two paintings from Hollenstein's first solo exhibition. [3] Other celebrity patrons include Ringo Starr, Slash (Guns N' Roses), [7] Elliot Easton (The Cars), [3] Nick Hexum (311), author Dean Koontz, [4] Elton John, and television evangelist Joel Osteen. [11]

Malibu-based art collector Lisette Ackerberg, the widow of real estate developer Norman Ackerberg, has assembled one of Southern California's premier private abstract art collections. The Ackerbeg collection, which includes works by Pablo Picasso and Willem de Kooning, also includes Hollenstein's painting Unseen. [3] [4]

Charity work

Hollenstein regularly donates paintings and the proceeds of sales to charitable and non-profit organizations. Ten percent of all of the sales of Hollenstein's paintings go to Canine Companions for Independence, a non-profit organization that trains service dogs. [3] [4]

In 2007, Hollenstein's paintings were featured in an exhibit at the Boston Children's Hospital, [12] which led to Hollenstein coming out on location to the hospital to teach wheelchair-using children how to paint with the tires of their wheelchairs. [4] In 2008, Hollenstein donated Helping Hands, a painting which featured the handprints of sixteen rock musicians, including those of Ringo Starr and Joe Walsh, to the non-profit Shane's Inspiration. [10] [13] In 2009, Hollenstein donated paintings to a concert benefit for Los Angeles-based charity Adopt The Arts that "preserves and creates arts programs in U.S. public schools". [14] In 2011, a solo exhibition of Hollenstein's work entitled "Wheels of Hope" donated forty percent of its proceeds to six different charitable organizations. [10]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pierre-Auguste Renoir</span> French painter and sculptor (1841–1919)

Pierre-Auguste Renoir was a French artist who was a leading painter in the development of the Impressionist style. As a celebrator of beauty and especially feminine sensuality, it has been said that "Renoir is the final representative of a tradition which runs directly from Rubens to Watteau."

The Huntington Library, Art Museum and Botanical Gardens, known as The Huntington, is a collections-based educational and research institution established by Henry E. Huntington and Arabella Huntington in San Marino, California, United States. In addition to the library, the institution houses an extensive art collection with a focus on 18th and 19th century European art and 17th to mid-20th century American art. The property also has approximately 120 acres (49 ha) of specialized botanical landscaped gardens, including the "Japanese Garden", the "Desert Garden", and the "Chinese Garden".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Billy Dee Williams</span> American actor, novelist and painter (born 1937)

William December Williams Jr. is an American actor, novelist and painter. He has appeared in over 100 films and television roles over six decades. He is best known for portraying Lando Calrissian in the Star Wars franchise and has also appeared in critically acclaimed and popular titles such as Mahogany (1975), Scott Joplin (1977), and Nighthawks (1981), as Harvey Dent in Batman (1989) and The Lego Batman Movie (2017), The Last Angry Man (1959), Carter's Army, The Out-of-Towners (1969), The Final Comedown and Lady Sings the Blues, Hit! (1973), Fear City and Terror in the Aisles, Alien Intruder (1993) and The Visit (2000).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles</span> Art museum in California , U.S.

The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (MOCA) is a contemporary art museum with two locations in greater Los Angeles, California. The main branch is located on Grand Avenue in Downtown Los Angeles, near the Walt Disney Concert Hall. MOCA's original space, initially intended as a temporary exhibit space while the main facility was built, is now known as the Geffen Contemporary and located in the Little Tokyo district of downtown Los Angeles. Between 2000 and 2019, it operated a satellite facility at the Pacific Design Center facility in West Hollywood.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cheech Marin</span> American comedian and actor (born 1946)

Richard Anthony "Cheech" Marin is an American comedian, actor, musician, and activist. He gained recognition as part of the comedy act Cheech & Chong during the 1970s and early 1980s with Tommy Chong, and as Don Johnson's partner, Insp. Joe Dominguez, on Nash Bridges. He has also voiced characters in several Disney films, including Oliver & Company, The Lion King, The Lion King 1½, the Cars franchise, Coco, and Beverly Hills Chihuahua.

Mark Tansey is an American painter.

<i>The 1 Second Film</i> American non-profit collaborative art project

The 1 Second Film is an American non-profit collaborative art project which began as a student project by Nirvan Mullick in 2001. Receiving contributions from thousands of people around the world, including many celebrities, the project is currently dormant.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Los Angeles Art Association</span> American nonprofit organization

The Los Angeles Art Association (LAAA), non-profit arts organization that's been around for 96 years, helps up-and-coming artists. It was created in 1925 to let folks in Los Angeles see high-quality art and build a collection of European and American art for the people of the city.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marco Sassone</span> Italian painter

Marco Sassone, OMRI is an American-Italian painter. He moved to Florence in 1954, where his interest in painting began. He studied architectural drafting at the Istituto Galileo Galilei, and sold his first works, watercolor sketches, to tourists. Sassone studied with painter Silvio Loffredo, who had been a pupil of the Austrian artist Oskar Kokoschka. These artists formed Sassone's early influences.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Bell (artist)</span> American artist

Michael Bell is an American portrait painter, muralist, screenwriter and author. He has painted portraits of John Gotti and actors from Mafia dramas The Sopranos, Goodfellas and A Bronx Tale. Bell is an anti-bullying and Autism activist. In June, 2017 Bell published his memoir "Dual Lives: from the Streets to the Studio".

William Quigley is an American painter from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Harold Frank (1921–1995) was an American abstract expressionist artist, born in Southampton, England.

Julian Ritter was an American painter of Polish-German descent who painted primarily nudes, clowns and portraits.

Andre Miripolsky is an American pop artist based in Los Angeles, California. His career began with the design of Elton John's piano jacket in 1980, and is best known for his "Fear No Art" button, album covers, the Miripolsky Barbie, and Absolut Vodka illustrations. He also painted the backdrops for the Tonight Show hosted by Jay Leno.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nicholas Volpe</span> American artist

Nicholas A. Volpe was an American artist, noted for his portraits of Hollywood celebrities, presidents, sports figures, and other famous personalities. He is said to have painted more movie stars than any other artist in America.

Harry Andrew Jackson, born Harry Aaron Shapiro Jr., was an American artist. He began his career as a Marine combat artist, then later worked in the abstract expressionist, realist, and American western styles.

Alex Israel is an American multimedia artist, writer, and designer from Los Angeles. His work includes large, colorful airbrushed paintings of abstract gradients and Los Angeles skies, his self-portraits, painted on shaped fiberglass panels, and multimedia installations constructed from movie-house props.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Perry Milou</span> American contemporary pop artist (born 1967)

Perry Milou is an American contemporary pop artist known for his representational works of popular culture subjects including iconic celebrities, notable sports players, political figures and landmarks. Collectors and critics have noted his bold and rich palettes throughout his career. His list of commission patrons and collectors includes names such as Sylvester Stallone, Julius Erving, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Philadelphia Eagles and Ed Rendell. He lives and works in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lincoln Townley</span> English painter (born 1972)

Lincoln Townley is an English self-taught painter who explores the darker side of the human personality, painting abstract portraits of celebrities. He lives in Cheshire and in London.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rita Asfour</span> American Impressionist (1933–2021)

Rita Asfour was an American modern artist. She was known for her colorful aesthetic paintings of the human figure. Rita projected life and movement by the strength of her compositions. Feminine mystique and sensuality were her trademark.

References

  1. ↑ Laurell, David (10 June 2014). "On the Town: Two artistic venues make a big impression". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2 March 2017.
  2. 1 2 Takowsky, Suzanne (June 2012). "One Picture Says A Thousand Words…". Beverly Hills Times. Beverly Hills, CA: The Beverly Hills Times, LLC. pp. 20–21, 41. Retrieved 2 March 2017.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Groubert, Mark (22 April 2009). "LA People 2009: Spin Artist – Tommy Hollenstein". LA Weekly. Los Angeles: Voice Media Group. p. 103. Retrieved 2 March 2017.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Maddox, Sam (April 2008). "Tommy Hollenstein: Tracking Art". New Mobility. Kew Gardens, New York: United Spinal Association. pp. 32–41. Retrieved 2 March 2017.
  5. ↑ McCarthy, Dennis (10 July 2005). "Tracks of His Tears. Artist paints in memory of his best friend: a dog". Los Angeles Daily News. Digital First Media. p. 1. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
  6. ↑ McCarthy, Dennis (8 December 2011). "Dennis McCarthy: Colorful collaboration of wheels, paws". Los Angeles Daily News. Digital First Media. p. A2. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
  7. 1 2 "Service Dog Inspires Artist To Paint With His Wheelchair". Huffington Post. 6 August 2013. Retrieved 2 March 2017.
  8. ↑ Hart, Scot. "Profile: Tommy Hollenstein" (PDF). Scothart.com. Scot Craig Hart Communications. Retrieved 19 April 2017.
  9. ↑ Fox, John (9 October 2006). "Interview with Painter Tommy Hollenstein". Arts and Entertainment Ministries. Retrieved 2 March 2017.
  10. 1 2 3 Bellantoni, Cassandra (9 March 2011). "Local Artist Keeps Rolling Along With His 'Wheels of Hope' Charity Benefit". Patch. Hale Global. Retrieved 2 March 2017.
  11. ↑ "About Tommy". Tommyhollenstein.com. Retrieved 19 April 2017.
  12. ↑ "Art Exhibits". Childrenshospital.org. Boston Children's Hospital. Retrieved 19 April 2017.
  13. ↑ Calkins, Meli, ed. (March 2009). "More Member News" (PDF). The Paint Rag. 66 (3). Granada Hills: San Fernando Valley Art Club: 4. Retrieved 4 March 2017.
  14. ↑ "SLASH, BILLY GIBBONS, DUFF MCKAGAN, RICHIE SAMBORA, MATT SORUM And More - Adopt The Arts Concert And Live Auction Raises Over $106,000 In One Night To Fund Music Programs In LAUSD Elementary Schools; Photos Posted". BraveWords. 16 January 2015. Retrieved 4 March 2017.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.