Todd Umbarger is a native of New Milford and a 1995 graduate of New Milford High School. Following his graduation from Hartford Art School in 1999 with a BFA in Illustration, he moved to New York City and worked for several web and media companies before embarking on a career in freelance illustration. He has been published in various editorial, institutional and educational entities and worked with clients such as HBO, Anheuser-Busch and the United Nations. He also created a popular series of online political cartoons and exhibited them at The Silo in New Milford in 2010. Umbarger has since returned to Connecticut and in 2012 made a transition into fine art. He is currently a graphic artist at Whole Foods Market Danbury.
The “Point of Impact” series depicts the spectacle of an explosion as a surreal Pop art object. The explosion is both a horrific act of violence and a staple of modern entertainment. We recoil at the death and destruction caused at home and abroad by these fiery combustions while we simultaneously cheer the contemporary heroes of film, television and gaming who employ them regularly. The eruptions of “Point of Impact” are presented without context- no geography, no victims, no debris- and are pure solid forms of fire and smoke. Each panel is a unique exploration of shape and color while retaining a sense of force and light. “Point of Impact” also symbolizes one man’s long-desired burst of artistic energy after a demoralizing creative drought.
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