Thomas Martinez Pilnik
"A memory is not a static object. To remember is to re-imagine, reinterpret, and fabricate and once a moment has passed, only its reformation as its most recent recollection remains. My work, through clay, textiles, and painting, grapples with this delicate boundary between reality and memory.
I use touch, materiality, and storytelling to recall personal narratives over and over again and translate them into objects. But the more I bring a memory into focus, the more fragile it becomes. The more I use a memory, the more likely it is to change. So as the safest memories are those that exist in the minds of people who cannot remember, I almost recklessly rely on my memories to try and find the truth behind them.
The more I try, the less I prevail. And so my work is imperfect, often impermanent, and revels in its flaws and failures. Each piece bears the imprint of my hands - molded, pinched, and pulled in an attempt to immortalize the process of creation itself. Ultimately, I invite the viewer to consider the nuances of their own memories and contemplate the universal themes of our collective human experience.
Thomas Martinez Pilnik (b. 1993) was raised in London by Brazilian parents. Pilnik then moved to the US and obtained his BA in Studio Art and Cognitive Science from the University of Virginia, M.Ed in Postsecondary Education from the University of Southern California, and MFA from the University of Connecticut. He is now based in Los Angeles. Pilnik has exhibited internationally in spaces including Moosey and Arusha Gallery in London,
SPRING/BREAK Art Show in New York, Zaratan Arte Contemporânea in Lisbon, and Hashimoto Contemporary in Los Angeles, and has created installations and works in collaboration with organizations such as the Los Angeles Department of Mental Health and Downtown Providence Parks Conservancy. He has been an artist-in-residence at Zaratan, McKenzie Gibson Studios in Rhode Island, Stove Works in Tennessee, Art House San Clemente, and has an upcoming session at The Wassaic Project in Upstate New York.
