REVIEWS

40 years of Painting Holiday Decorations on Windows-Austin American Statesman- December 12 ,2020
https://www.statesman.com/story/news/columns/2020/12/11/40-years-painting-holiday-decorations-car-dealer-windows/3880696001/
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Americký malír Tom Besson se stal cestným obcanem Valašského Mezirící
https://www.echovalasska.cz/zpravodajstvi/americky-malir-tom-besson-se-stal-cestnym-obcanem-valasskeho-mezirici-/
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Where Art and Frozen Bull Semen Converge-Austin American Statesman- January 15, 2017 http://digital.olivesoftware.com/olive/apa/austinamericanstatesman/SharedView.Article.aspx?href=AAS%2F2017%2F01%2F15&id=Ar07200&sk=A334B97D&viewMode=text
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Interpreting Reality with Tom Besson- Almost Real Things Art Magazine-June15,2015
https://almostrealthings.com/2017/06/15/tom-besson/
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Art Talk Chicago - Neo-Symbolism: Bridges to the Unknown at the Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art - Robin Dluzen - June 2010
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Pravo - Neosymboliste Vystavuji v Olomouci - Vlasta Hrdilova - January 12, 2007
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Zlinsky Denik - January 6, 2007
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Bohomir Kolar Review - January 5,2007
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Dnes - Galerii Osadil Neosymbolismus - January 5, 2007
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Olomoucky Denik - Galerie Hosti Neosymbolisty(dkr) - January 5, 2007
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Glassreview - V Olomouci Vystavuji Sva Dila Neosymboliste - Vaclav Hanul - January 2007
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Vesterbro Bladet - Symbol X i Rahuset - Af Michael Friis - November 22, 2006 - Copenhagen, Denmark
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Austin Gazeta - The Exhibition of Neosymbolist Art - October, 2006
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Dnes - Radek Vaclavik - March 3, 2005
An interesting exhibition of American Neosymbolists just started in Olomouc at Galerie G Visitors can see the work of Tom Besson and Cheryl Finfrock. Both artists are rediscovering basic themes that are tied with the human culture.
“Perhaps the strongest motive to create is to attempt to express what it means for an artist to live in these times, in both their political and sociological situations. It is to show what is going on in their souls- to show a deeper meaning of life” said the curator of the exhibition.

Pravo - Vlasta Hradilova - March 5, 2005
Visitors to Galerie G had an chance to see interesting work of two members of an international art movement called Neosymbolism. It was the work of Tom Besson and Cheryl Finfrock, both from the U.S.A……
“The exhibition seeks the possibility of using symbols and colors to express feelings and message. They know this method is not new but believe that it is time again for stories to be part of paintings” commented art historian Jiri Hastik….
“A strong motive for their work is in their effort to express the meaning of living in our times, in our society and political situations, as well as what is happening in their souls” continued Hastik.

Olomoucky Den - Gabriela Garbova - March 17, 2005
The reflections of present life through the eyes of American painters Tom Besson and Cheryl Finfrock are both expressive and colorful. Paintings of both artists in the exhibition at Galerie G on the town square are part of the international movement of Neosymbolism.

Austin Chronicle Vol 23 No 26 - Jacqueline May - May 7, 2004
This exhibition gives Austin a chance to see a current in art that hasn’t been getting a lot of attention. Tom Besson, organizer of the exhibit, has gathered a group of people who use visual images to represent life and their emotions. Although the artworks edge into the surreal, the meanings are more conscious and specific than those typically seen in surrealism. This type of work is often associated with political commentary….
Besson’s own “patron Saint of the Dysfunctional Family” is a favorite of mine. With its halo framed by a television screen, a gracefully rendered triune figure wields a number of items referring to substance abuse. A card game is in progress and the viewer has been dealt the “dead man’s hand”, aces and eights…..

Spektrum Rožnovska - July 14, 2003
Besson’s work shows a new understanding of the world, an abstraction of spirituality and physics, and humanity’s inability to control the powers of nature…..His pictures are clearly readable in the areas of symbolism and his basic understanding of personal and spiritual ideas.

Obelisk - Jitka Petreková Curator Exhibitions at Valašský Špalicek - June 2002
This energetic and clever man with Moravian roots combines his strong emotional experiences with real space and landscapes. He gives everything in his paintings symbolism. Using a colorful pallette his paintings are beautiful.

Sketch Book The Artists’ Coalition of Austin Newsletter - Neosymbolismus at Depot St. Gallery - Pascale Vial -July 2001
Besson paints large and small works that are full of color and swirling movement. Many of his pieces seem a reminder of a greedy society going-going-gone bad, such as ”Who are We to Think We Could Know” and “Circus Act” where minute people advance teetering on a tightrope over an infinite and turbulent chasm. Yet these are not just moralistic works, they also have compassion in the stylized and weathered faces and somewhat decorative compositions and colors. There is an appreciation of unfettered freedom in several of his works also, that which comes with wide-open spaces and open roads.

Vakuum2 Magazine of Valašské Umení (Walachian Art) - Marek Irgl - December 2000
Tom Besson, after years of painting, has come to his own specific style which typically combines realistic figurative painting in a dreaming land. Using a colorful palette, he shows visible movement through the use of curved lines and spirals. He considers himself a symbolist. His paintings often tell concrete stories while still engaging the practical and personal imaginations of individual viewers.

Váše Valaško ( Our Walachia) - Tuesday, June 20, 2000
The power in Tom Besson’s paintings is based in the combination of realistic figurative and portrait painting with a dream like landscape.