Ashes & Ideals: Tom Pazderka’s Art of Exile, Return & Regrowth

In this episode of Ojai Talk of the Town, we sit down with artist Tom Pazderka — a Czech-American painter, sculptor, writer and thinker whose journey from communist Czechoslovakia to America as a teenager has deeply shaped his practice. Born in Český Brod in 1981 and emigrating to the U.S. at age 12, Pazderka says those early years of dual identity and upheaval still echo in his work. LUM+4LUM+4MeetFactory+4We explore his recent achievements — his solo exhibition at the Carolyn Glasoe Bailey Foundation and his award of a residency at Taft Gardens — and how his practice engages with themes of memory, ideology, home and the stark beauty of process. (Pazderka often burns wood panels, layers ash and oil paint and works in monochrome to evoke both the material and metaphoric weight of his experience.) Bender Gallery+1We also talk about how Ojai has become both studio and sanctuary — how the landscape and quiet enable his reflections, and how this community intersects with his work of reinvention, belonging and creation. Join us for a rich conversation about art, exile, finding home and making something new out of what we leave behind.We also talked about El Chapo Traphouse, Slavoj Zizek and Metal Gear Solid. We did not talk about Rene Girard, Martin Heidegger or Grand Theft Auto 6.Learn more about Tom and his art at https://tompazderka.com/home.html