Tom Wudl
L.A. Louver Gallery
The overtly symbolic yet highly personal paintings of Tom Wudl speak of the artist’s long-standing study and practice of Buddhist meditation. To his credit Wudl does not set his imagery adrift on the vague, cloudy kind of structure often associated with Western devotees of such practices. The best of his work employs a raw, stark, emblematic iconography updating certain terrifying and horrific aspects of visionary Buddhist art. His imagery seems entirely personal, as though it were derived from first-hand observation.
The image of a nude young woman appears again and again in these paintings,