Trey Abdella

Still in Detention

- Sasha Bogojev

Tom and Jerry was created by two young cartoonists under the age of 30, convinced there was no need for dialogue if you provided non-stop action and visual humor. In a hundred different ways, at a hundred miles an hour, cat chases mouse, and mouse thinks of a hundred ways to outsmart him. High speed, and the proverbial hijinks that go with it. Trey Abdella grew up on Tom and Jerry, and in the end, outsmarted the doubters. He's a young guy who has arrived at record pace, and lets his art do the talking.

I first talked to Trey at the small studio booth set up at the New York Academy of Art, the place where he made works for solo shows in Rome and at Frieze NY, with T293 gallery. Quickly surpassing this setup like a certain mouse, he moved to his own home studio only a few days before NY went into lockdown. We got back in touch the night before the opening of his solo show in Berlin at König Galerie, and learned that he is currently working on an international museum debut.