EAF06: 2006 Emerging Artist Fellowship Exhibition


Hank Willis Thomas



It's about time, 2006
Vinyl, aluminum, mixed media
Dimensions variable
The Truth is I am You, 2006
2 Helium balloons, vinyl
4 x 8 x 3’ each

This sculpture is a functioning sundial that examines the changing meaning of the ‘Black Power’ fist – here depicted in an Armani suit wearing a Gucci watch. The artist is exploring the legacy of the 1960s struggle for economic, civic and social equality and how it has been translated by the Me, X and Y generations.

Born 1976, Plainfield, NJ
Lives and works in New York, NY

Education
2004 M.F.A. Photography, California College of the Arts, San Francisco, CA
2004 M.A. Visual Criticism, California College of the Arts, San Francisco, CA
1998 B.F.A. Photography & Africana Studies, New York University, NY

Selected solo and two person exhibitions:
Signifying Blackness, Sesnon Art Gallery, University of California at Santa Cruz, CA (2006)
B®ANDED, Jack Shainman Gallery, New York, NY (2006)
Unbranded, Lisa Dent Gallery, San Francisco, CA (2006)
Bearing Witness, African American Museum in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA (2005)
Family Matters, The Light Factory, Charlotte, NC (2005)
Hank Willis Thomas, Lisa Dent Gallery, San Francisco, CA (2004)
The Trade Dress: Value Judgments, Diaspora Vibe Gallery, Miami, FL (2004)
After Happily Ever, Long & Pollack Gallery, San Francisco, CA (2003)
Mother to Son, Texas Women’s University, Danville, TX (2003)

Selected group exhibitions:
The California Biennial, The Orange County Museum of Art, CA (2006)
Under the Influenced = I, Bernice Steinbaum Gallery, Miami, FL (2006)
Metro Pictures, The Museum of Contemporary Art, Miami and The Moore Space, Miami, FL (2006)
Black Panther Rank and File, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco, CA (2006)
Double Exposure, Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford, CT (2006)
Frequency, The Studio Museum in Harlem, New York, NY (2005)
Day Labor, P.S.1, New York, NY (2005)
Bay Area Now 4, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco, CA (2005)
Remnants, Relics, Jamaica Center for Art & Learning, New York, NY (2005)
Propeller, Steve Turner Gallery, Los Angeles, CA (2005)
Recovered Views, de Saisset Museum, Santa Clara, CA (2005)
Saturday Night/Sunday Morning, African-American Museum in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA (2005)
The GlamMore Show Revisited, PlaySpace Gallery, San Francisco, CA (2005)
Salad Days, Artists Space, New York, NY (2004)
Jamaica Flux, Jamaica Center for Art and Learning, New York, NY (2004)
Coasticated, Punch Gallery, San Francisco, CA (2004)
Missing Person’s, Pro Arts Gallery, Oakland, CA (2003)
GenArt’s Emerge 2003, The Big House, San Francisco, CA (2003)
POPULAR tm, Works Gallery, San Jose, CA (2003)
25 Under 25, Gulf & Western Gallery, New York, NY (2003)
Saturday Night/Sunday Morning, The Leica Gallery, New York, NY (2003)
Moments in Love, Intimacy and Kinship, Grand Central Station, New York, NY (2001)
The Legacy of Gordon Parks, Oakland Museum, Oakland, CA (2001)
Latent Discoveries, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ (2001)
Reflecting Black, The Bomani Gallery, San Francisco, CA (2001)
Reflections In Black, Smithsonian Institution, Arts & Industries Building, Washington, DC (2000)
Fuzzy Logic, Southern Exposure Gallery, San Francisco, CA (2000)
Oneness, The New York Ba’hai Center, New York, NY (2000)
Speak to my Heart, Smithsonian Institution, The Anacostia Museum, Washington, DC (1999)
The Family, Bronfman Center for Jewish Life, New York, NY (1998)
Images & Inspirations, National Museum of American History, Washington, DC (1994)

Residencies, awards and public commissions:
Art Omi, Ghent, NY (2006)
Vermont Studio Center, Johnson, VT (2006)
NYFA Fellowship, New York Foundation for the Arts, New York, NY (2006)
Changing Faces of Oakland, Oakland International Airport, CA (2006)
Artist in Residence, Light Work, Syracuse, NY (2005)
Participant Fellowship, Skowhegan School of Painting & Sculpture, Skowhegan, ME (2005)
General Prize Winner, M.I.L.K. International Photography Competition (2000)