Thom Flynn frequently roams the streets of Washington, DC and other cities in search of the raw materials for his compositions: wheat-pasted posters that have accumulated on derelict buildings and other structures. Flynn strips the posters from their hosts and brings them back to his studio, where he tears them, shuffles them and staples them to wood panels. Evoking the Situationist fascination with the accidental stumble through the city, Flynn melds the messages, slogans, and signs that the urban landscape affords into three-dimensional compositions that are both rugged and beautiful. He locks the compositions in place with a clear epoxy resin, creating works that are part-painting and part-sculpture.

Flynn’s goal is "to merge the opposing forces of creation and destruction," His works both highlight and obscure the visual elements of the materials he finds. The random and conscious layering of these elements in the finished product invites a kind of urban archeology by which the viewer explores and dissects each piece in search of meaning. Inevitably, the works evoke notions of consumerism and material excess.

Flynn is a graduate of American University, where he received the Alma Thomas Award for painting. He has also studied at the Chautauqua Institution in New York.

Untitled (2004)   SOLD	Untitled II (2004) SOLD
Inside the Artist's Studio	Inside the Artist's Studio