Get to know the work of the artist Tom from Finland

On 30th August, Skira releases Tom of Finland: An Imaginary Sketchbook. Pay Matthis Karstens and Juerg Juden, co-editors of An Imaginary Sketchbook, worked closely with Tom of Finland Foundation to pull highlights from a more extensive collection of Tom’s sketches, some of which appeared in public for the first time in a 2017 exhibition.

“We wanted to show a spectrum of what he drew and how he drew,” Karstens said. “Not just ones where every line is perfect. But drawings where you see the process and a bit of how TOM’s Man changed.”

Left- TOM OF FINLAND Untitled (preparatory sketch), 1964; Right- TOM OF FINLAND Untitled (preparatory sketch), 1964. © Tom of Finland Foundation

Not all the illustrations in the sketchbook are preparatory works, what Tom called ‘roughs,’ where he’s arranging figures and compositions. “You can see him trying a gesture, erasing it, and finding the right one,” Karstens said. “It’s very different from the finished works, which are so ‘finished.’”

The signature Tom of Finland eroticism is on full display, but some of Karstens’ favorite drawings show a tender side, like one depicting two men cuddling. “Yes, there’s a huge bulge, but there’s also a show of love,” he said. “A connection beyond the sexual.”

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Published: 30th August 2022

Categorised in: News