Toby zur Loye

Milwaukie, Oregon

I create vegetal, bodily, and elemental forms / environments that exist in a state of metamorphosis. My work explores concepts of growth and decay, and my imagery recalls the eruptive, disintegrating, and radiating powers of natural phenomena and forces. These landscapes materialize on both macro and micro levels: galactic explosion / implosion; the collision of glacial and magmatic energies; organic decomposition and cellular generation.

I wrote my MA thesis on Max Ernst’s Histoire Naturelle, situating his Natural History within the context of Surrealist automatism and Darwinian evolutionary theory. Histoire Naturelle is an appropriation of natural themes, forms, and cycles; similar to Ernst, my engagement with natural forms and utilization of semi-automatic techniques explore the link between nature and the physical and mental generation of forms.

I grew up in Columbus, IN, but I moved west after college, spending several years in Chicago before setting roots just outside of Portland, OR. Outside of my artistic practice, I am the manager of a treasury analytics department, I love playing piano and reading fantasy book series, I am a soccer enthusiast and skier, and my wife and I enjoy hiking with our 2 dogs (Ganon and Zora).