Thomas Lax
(1948–)
Thomas Lax
1948–
Thomas Lax (1948– ) is a Czech-Canadian painter who explores nature through prints and drawings, utilizing a microscopic lens to observe weather patterns, map the human body, and establish connections between humans, science, and machinery. Lax experimented with intaglio processes, using his hand and body to create marks on plates. He also ripped and sewn paper to subvert traditional art conventions.
After studying traditional printmaking in Czechoslovakia, Lax’s approach evolved during his MFA studies at York University in Toronto (1971–76). He taught at the University of Ostrava and later in Canada at York University, Fanshawe College, and the Alberta College of Art and Design.
Lax received the Jury Prize at the Alberta Artists Association Exhibition in 1979, the Jury Selection Award for the Edition I Ontario Arts Council Printmaking Competition and Exhibition in Toronto, Ontario, in 1974, and the Jury Selection Award for Printed Matter, the Printmaking Competition and Exhibition at Mount Allison University in Sackville, New Brunswick, in the same year. He has been a visiting artist in Canada and the Czech Republic. He is a Czechoslovak Society of Arts and Sciences member in Washington, DC, and the Canada-Czech Republic Chamber of Commerce in Toronto.