By Ellen C. Caldwell
for New American Paintings
Tom Pazderka’s (NAP #117) work is quietly disturbing. His mixed media and wood installations have a haunting presence, suggesting isolated cabins in the woods, lone wolves, and ideas or dreams gone astray. They feel threatening, yet on the other hand, they are also somehow unassuming and peaceful.
As an artist from the Czech Republic who is living and practicing in the U.S., Pazderka addresses history from a liminal space, processing, rethinking, and revisiting time, memory, and memory-making itself. With recent attention on the Confederate flag and the public outcry for its removal from a growing list of state buildings, retailers, and public spaces, I was particularly interested to ask Pazderka about its relevance in his work.