by Chandler Christopher
Tim Maxwell is a New Jersey-hailing artist currently residing in New York City. Maxwell is a passionate workhorse, humbly spending 10-12 hours every single day crafting intricate line drawings. Dripping ink from his tool of choice, a ballpoint pen, Tim finds peace and healing in his process. The artist’s story is one of extreme resilience, full of volatility and uplifting hardships. He has discovered a natural symbiosis between him and his work, providing a genius ability to create large-scale, symmetrical masterpieces. Much of his work can be described as surreal depictions of historical paintings, inspired by Celtic illuminated manuscripts, geometry, and punk rock. Tim first became enthused with art when he received his first tattoo at 18 years old, describing the experience as “enamoring”. Following this artistic exposure, he began drawing tattoos for friends at his undergraduate alma mater of Penn State University. This catapulted the young Tim Maxwell into switching his major to fine arts, effectively altering his life path. Upon graduating from PSU, Maxwell moved to New York City, where he graduated from The School of Visual Arts in 2004.
Tim’s journey continued after this, bouncing around different NYC galleries, getting married, and having a kid. Grown-up life, an encapsulation of ups and downs, had reached Tim Maxwell. As the years passed by, he began to lose inspiration, leading to less work and less income to support his family. The situation eventually escalated to Tim being kicked out, tossed to the curb to fend for himself. Tim describes this period of his life as “infinitely dark,” oftentimes feeling as though there was no point in living anymore. It wasn’t until he met the light of his life, Sophie, that he was pulled from this place and showed that many wonderful moments were in store for his future. Tim began to find solitude and joy in his process again. A process which he spends, once again, 10-12 hours a day engaging in. This rediscovery of his artistic passion led Tim to realize that “there is a life besides self-doubt and hate. It’s better not to dwell on how you’ve been wronged and just keep moving forward”. Tim Maxwell lives and breathes his art, projecting the geometrically brilliant images he sees in his brain onto epic foundations.
