'All C@p$ Are Bottoms (A.C.A.B.)' (detail), 1979/2022
Limited 2nd Edition 29th Anniversary of TOM'S Bar Artist Skate Deck
'Tom of Finland: Bold Journey' was recently on view at the Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma, Helsinki, Finland (2023) and 'Tom of Finland: Pen and Ink 1965 – 1989' at the David Kordansky Gallery, Los Angeles, CA (2021).
In addition, 'Tom of Finland: The Darkroom' was recently on view at Fotografiska Tallinn, Estonia (2020). This exhibition was the first to focus on Tom’s photographs, in combination with his drawings, showing his artistic process. The Exhibition was produced by Fotografiska in collaboration with Tom of Finland Foundation on the occasion of the artist's birth 100 years ago.
Over the course of four decades he produced some 3500 illustrations, mostly featuring men with exaggerated primary and secondary sex traits with tight or partially removed clothing.
New York's Museum of Modern Art has acquired several examples of Laaksonen's artwork for its permanent collection. In 2006, MoMA in New York accepted five Tom of Finland drawings as part of a much larger gift from The Judith Rothschild Foundation. The trustee of The Judith Rothschild Foundation, Harvey S. Shipley Miller, said, “Tom of Finland is one of the five most influential artists of the twentieth century. As an artist he was superb, as an influence he was transcendent.”