Themes+Projects is excited to exhibit “To the Edge” by Tom Chambers. The exhibition contains twenty new photographs from two series, Animal Visions and To the Edge. 

Known for his use of photomontage, Tom Chambers presents unspoken stories which illustrate fleeting moments in time and which are intended to evoke a mood in the viewer. These mythical illustrations might address the fragility of childhood or the delicate transition experienced by a child passing into adolescence and then adulthood. Others express the tension in the uncertain coexistence between man and his environment, a delicate balance too often ignored and damaged. Each photomontage is carefully constructed, using both images that have been planned and those that unexpectedly enhance the story. With digital photography, Tom desires to move beyond documentation of the present, and rather seek to merge reality and dreams in musing about possibilities of the future. 

Tom Chambers was born and raised on a farm in the Amish country of Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Tom completed a B.F.A. in 1985 from Ringling School of Art, Sarasota, Florida with an emphasis in graphic design and strong interest in photography. For many years Tom has worked as a graphic designer, including the design of packaging and magazines. Since 1998 Tom has devoted himself to photomontage for sharing the intriguing unspoken stories which reflect his view of the world and elicit feelings in the viewer. 

Chambers’ work has been shown nationally and internationally through solo and group exhibitions, as well as in a wide range of print and online publications. He has received recognition for his photography through a variety of awards, such as Worldwide Photography Gala Awards, First Place Digital Enhanced; Fotoweek DC, First Place Fine Arts (2009) and Second Place Fine Arts (2008); Critical Mass Top 50 (2008 and 2006); and Texas Photographic Society National Competition Third Place (TPS #18, 2009) and First Place (TPS #15, 2006). Tom has received fellowships from the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and the Virginia Commission for the Arts.