Rhino World Order features artwork by Buffalo resident, Richard Tomasello. Tomasello creates ceramic and plaster sculptures in large scale to talk about the power of individual resistance against overwhelming societal pressures. This new body of work is inspired by the play Rhinoceros, written in 1959 by absurdist playwright Eugene lonesco. The play is noted to be a response to the rise of fascism before WWII, using imagery of people turning into rhinoceroses as they are swept up into the fascist regime. One character in the play resists conforming at all costs to maintain his identity. Tomasello uses the imagery of the Rhinoceros to talk about his own experiences with physical assault, school shootings, mob mentality, toxic masculinity, the bystander effect, and systematic violence.

There will be an Opening Reception for this exhibition on Friday, September 5 from 6-7PM in Tyler Art Gallery.