Tom Sarver is a Pittsburgh artist driven by the philosophy of the artist as “inventor” or “pioneer.” His work has spanned a wide variety of mediums including painting, installation art, sculpture, video and performance art. Sarver’s work is characterized by low-tech gadgetry and the strong influence of outsider art. A self-taught puppeteer, Sarver has been performing at and organizing Pittsburgh’s Black Sheep Puppet Festival since 1999. Many of his paintings, installations and performances are centered on environmental or social issues. His Tom Museum exhibition at the Mattress Factory features the artist living inside of an ever-changing world of art experiments. Sarver was born in New Castle, PA in 1975. He earned a BFA from the Tyler School of Art, Temple University. He has exhibited at numerous venues including the Warhol Museum, Allegheny College, the Philadelphia Puppet Uprising, the Three Rivers Arts Festival, SPACE Gallery and the Mattress Factory. He has been awarded The Heinz Endowments Creative Heights Initiative grant as well as the Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council Mayor’s Award for Public Art.