Tomer Peretz: Why Good Artists Make Bad Choices

Not Real Art

For artists and entrepreneurs, risk comes with the territory. Today’s guest, Los Angeles artist Tomer Peretz, embraces uncertainty in his career by making as many gaffes, blunders, and flubs as possible. “We [make] a lot of bad choices,” says Tomer, whose iconic “Bad Choices” t-shirt is emblematic of his philosophy on art: Make lots of mistakes.

On today’s podcast episode, host and NOT REAL ART founder Scott “Sourdough” Power sits down with Tomer Peretz to discuss the Israeli artist’s now-thriving practice and the risks it took to get there. “I intend to [make] mistakes,” he says. “Sometimes, it works and turns into a great choice. But sometimes it stays as a bad choice. In this case, in [some of my riskier] creations, I thought, ‘I'm ruining my entire relationship and my entire career,’ and it actually turned into a really good thing for me.”

Before landing in L.A. to start his art career, Tomer served in the Israeli military and backpacked across South America. His practice, inspired by travel, stories, and the people he’s met along the way, spans various mediums, including painting, photography, fashion, performance art, and NFTs. “The most creative people in the world, they're not afraid to get out of their comfort zone and just try new things,” he says.

In this episode, Tomer reveals how he leveraged his “bad choices” into a successful career in the arts. Listeners will also gain insight into his super limited-edition fashion collection, which he describes as “one-off” works of art. Tomer covers everything from courage and experimentation to storytelling and spiritual wandering in this episode, so tune in, and learn about the joys of risk without regret.

Key Points From This Episode:

• Insight into Tomer’s limited edition fashion collection.
• Questionable decisions that inspired his ‘Bad Choices’ t-shirt.
• The importance of getting out of your comfort zone as an artist.
• Ways that Tomer’s life experiences have informed his work.
• His time in South America, why he fell in love with LA, and how travel inspires him.
• Insight into Tomer’s gallery representation and how he built connections in Milan.
• The community-driven motivations behind his gallery in DTLA.
• Why he believes storytelling in art is more important than technical skill.
• Questions about mortality that inform Tomer’s life and work.
• Where he finds hope as a “spiritual wanderer” and why he chooses to embrace failure.
• How Burning Man inspires Tomer and informs his outlook on life.

For more information, please visit http://notrealart.com/tomer-peretz