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Exhibition
Information
TODD
WHITE CAPTURES RESTAURANT, NIGHT AND HOLLYWOOD SCENES
WITH CONTRASTING COLORS SERVING THE VIEWER’S EYES
AS THOSE IN HIS STOLEN SCENES SERVE OR ARE SERVED-WINE,
COFFEE, CIGARETTES, CIGARS, MARTINIS AND SEX. HE CREATES
TIMELESS SCENES OF DIVERSE ATTRACTION, OF KNOWN INTIMACY.
WITHIN THE EXAGGERATED FEATURES AND TEXTURED SKIN
OF HIS CHARACTERS LIES TRUTH, YOURS AND THEIRS. DISTINCTIVE
BODIES AND DETAILS TO LIPS, EYES, HAIR, SKIN, HANDS
AND WHAT IS HELD IN EACH, SEPARATE AND BLEND HIS CHARACTERS’
LIVES. THE SMOKE THAT RISES FROM THEIR LIPS, THE DRINKS
THAT LINGER AT THEIR FINGERTIPS, THE CLOTHING THAT
ADORNS THEIR BODIES AND THE CROWD CREATED AMONG LOVERS,
FRIENDS, PATRONS AND CO-WORKERS ALL SPEAK A CERTAIN
POETRY. EACH CHARACTER DEPICTS THE SUBTLETIES OF WHAT
ONE SHOWS AND WHAT ONE HIDES. AN ASYMMETRICAL FACE
TELLS OF AN ASYMMETRICAL LIFE, OF HOW LIFE WEARS AND
HOW WE WEAR LIFE -- WHAT WE CHOOSE TO CARRY IN OUR
HANDS AND ON OUR FACES -- HOW WE WEAR OURSELVES, WHAT
SMOKE AND COLOR WE STAND IN.
TODD'S PAINTINGS ARE CAPTIVATING, DEMANDING A SECOND
LOOK, OFTEN INVOKING HUMOR OR THOUGHTS OF FAMILIAR
FEELINGS -- “I'VE BEEN THERE, I KNOW THEM.” ABOVE
ALL, THE WORK IS INFECTIOUS AND HAS CAUGHT THE ATTENTION
OF THE PUBLIC (GALLERIES CANNOT KEEP ENOUGH OF TODD’S
WORK IN STOCK) AS WELL AS CELEBRITIES (VIN DIESEL,
HUGH HEFNER, MACAULAY CULKIN, ERIC McCORMACK, RYAN
STILES AND JOE ROGGIN ARE COLLECTORS OF TODD’S OIL
PAINTINGS). BUT WHO IS THE ARTIST BEHIND THE ART AND
WHERE DID HIS UNIQUE STYLE COME FROM?
TODD BEGAN IN AT WARNER BROS. STUDIOS WHILE WORKING
ON THE POPULAR SERIES, TINY TOONS. THROUGH CHARACTER
CLEAN-UP AND DEVELOPMENT, TODD BEGAN TO FORGE HIS
OWN ARTISTIC STYLE. SHORTLY THEREAFTER, TODD BECAME
PART OF THE LEAD ANIMATION TEAM FOR THE INTERNATIONALLY
RENOWNED CARTOON, SPONGE BOB SQUARE PANTS. OVER THE
NEXT THREE YEARS, TODD SHARPENED HIS EYE IN STORYBOARDING,
ILLUSTRATION AND CHARACTER DESIGN.
THROUGHOUT
THIS PERIOD, TODD PRIVATELY EXPERIMENTED WITH STYLE
AND CONCEPT, EVENTUALLY ARRIVING AT A PROCESS WHICH
GUIDES HIM THROUGH EVERY PIECE. THE IMPACT IS APPARENT
IN HIS PAINTINGS; TODD’S RAT-PACK-MEETS-PICASSO STYLE
RESULTS, IN PART, FROM HIS DESIRE TO REVEAL HIS CHARACTERS’
INNERMOST THOUGHTS AND EMOTIONS ON THEIR FACES. TODD
LIKENS HIS PORTRAITS TO HIS FAVORITE EPISODE OF THE
“TWILIGHT ZONE” IN WHICH PEOPLE WORE MASKS THAT LATER
BECAME THEIR FACES AND REVEALED WHO THEY TRULY WERE.
FAST
FORWARD TEN YEARS LATER, AND UNTIL TODD CAN CONCEPTUALLY
SEE THE STORY IN HIS HEAD, HE REFUSES TO PAINT A SINGLE
SIGNATURE KNUCKLE CURLED AROUND ONE OF HIS FAMOUS
MARTINIS. “I ACTUALLY NAME MY PIECES FIRST AND THEN
I VISUALIZE EACH FACE AND ITS PERSONALITY. THEN I
DEVELOP EACH PERSON”S STORY. THE STARK, UNBLEMISHED
DELIVERY OF HIS SUBJECTS IS VERY MUCH INTENDED: “WHATEVER
ISN’T NECESSARY TO THE STORY ISN’T ON MY CANVAS. I
DON’T WASTE A LOT OF TIME WITH BACKGROUNDS BECAUSE
THEY DON’T INTEREST ME. THEY AREN’T NECESSARY. INSTEAD
I FOCUS ON WHAT IS ESSENTIAL. FOR EXAMPLE, THE HANDS.
HANDS ARE A FOCAL POINT FOR TODD, REFLECTING THE SUBJECT’S
STATE OF MIND AS MUCH AS ANY BODY LANGUAGE OR FACIAL
EXPRESSION. “EVERYONE’S HANDS ARE FULL OF PERSONALITY”
HE SURMISES. “TAKE AL PACINO; WITHOUT HIS HANDS, HE’S
NOT NEARLY AS INTERESTING TO WATCH.
IN ADDITION TO MORE OBVIOUS INFLUENCES, SUCH AS AUSTRIAN
EXPRESSIONIST EGON SCHIELE, TODD CREDITS FRANK SINATRA,
AUDREY HEPBURN, BRIDGET BARDOT, NAT KING COLE AND
THE STYLE AND FEEL OF “THE AGE OF COOL. HOWEVER, TODD’S
FLIRTATION WITH THE “COOL CATS BEGINS AND ENDS ON
THE CANVAS. ON ANY GIVEN AFTERNOON, YOU’LL FIND TODD’S
PAINT-STAINED HANDS NOT REACHING FOR A FRESH CIGARETTE
OR A THIRD MARTINI, (TODD DOESN’T SMOKE AND RARELY
DRINKS ANYTHING STRONGER THAN ICED TEA), BUT RATHER
SCOOPING TRAIL MIX TO FEED WILD RABBITS OR THROWING
A WELL WORN RUBBER BALL FOR HIS DOGS. TODD KEEPS HIS
AFTERNOONS FREE BECAUSE OF THE ONE TRAIT HE HAS IN
COMMON WITH OL’ BLUE EYES: TODD FEELS HE DOES HIS
BEST WORK “IN THE WEE SMALL HOURS OF THE MORNING.
TODD RESIDES IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA, WITH HIS DOGS,
KATIE AND BRITTANY . . . AND A FEW LOCAL RABBITS.
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