Ashes & Ideals: Tom Pazderka’s Art of Exile, Return & Regrowth

Ojai: Talk of the Town · Oct 30, 2025 · 1h 22m

In this episode of Ojai Talk of the Town, we sit down with artist Tom Pazderka — a Czech-American painter, sculptor, writer and thinker whose journey from communist Czechoslovakia to America as a teenager has deeply shaped his practice. Born in Český Brod in 1981 and emigrating to the U.S. at age 12, Pazderka says those early years of dual identity and upheaval still echo in his work. LUM+4LUM+4MeetFactory+4

We explore his recent achievements — his solo exhibition at the Carolyn Glasoe Bailey Foundation and his award of a residency at Taft Gardens — and how his practice engages with themes of…