In Underpass, Tolman draws from her fascination with the hidden scenes beneath California’s freeways — the shadowed spaces, concrete structures, passing lights, and overlooked pockets of urban life that exist below the constant movement above. The painting transforms an underpass into a dramatic, almost nocturnal stage, where fiery orange-red light cuts through deep blues and smoky darkness. Rather than depicting the freeway literally, the work captures the strange beauty, tension, and cinematic charge of California’s in-between places.
Kim A. Tolman, Underpass, 2023, Oil on Canvas, 48" x 60"