Jesse Thomas
Selected Works
Biography
EDUCATION & QUALIFICATIONS
2003: Masters of Fine Arts – Painting, Washington University in Saint Louis, 2003
1993: Bachelor of Fine Arts – Painting and Drawing, School of the Art Institute of Chicago
1990 – 1991: Parsons School of Design, New York
1989: International Baccalaureate Diploma, Armand Hammer United World College
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2018: Keystone Confederates, Scott Gallery, Edmonton, AB2017: Keystone Confederates, Keystone Editions, Berlin, Germany2017: Gold Soundz, Scott Gallery, Edmonton, AB
2017: The Order of Things, The Multicultural Centre Public Art Gallery, Stony Plain, AB
2016: Aesthetic Histories, Zhengzhou University of Light Industry, Zhengzhou, Henan
2015: Songs from the Labyrinth, FAB Gallery, Edmonton AB
2014: Def Perspectives, Enterprise Square Galleries, Edmonton AB
2013: Super Spy Narratives, SNAP Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2011: Cerulean Brigade, Eleanor Harwood Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2011: Interior Conspiracy, Robert Bills Contemporary, Chicago IL
2006: Recent Work: Jesse Thomas, Snowflake, St Louis, MO
2004: Paintings and Sculpture, Fort Gondo Compound for the Arts, St Louis, MO
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2017: The Human Face, Scott Gallery, Edmonton AB
2016: Art + Design 3.0, FAB Gallery, Edmonton AB
2015: 501 Members Show, Strathcona County Art Gallery, Sherwood Park, AB
2014: Fresh Paint, Enterprise Square Galleries, Edmonton AB
2014: 501 Members Show, Strathcona County Art Gallery, Sherwood Park, AB
2013: Prizmatika, Steppes Gallery, Edmonton AB
2012: Figure it Out: Paintings by Jesse Thomas and Robert McCann, Schmidt Art Centre, SWIC, Belleville, IL
2011: With Eleanor Harwood Gallery, AQUA Artfair, Miami, FL
2011: With Robert Bulls Contemporary, NEXT Artfair, Chicago, IL
2010: Washington U. Faculty Exhibition, Des Lee Gallery, St Louis, MO
2008: 54th Mid-States Art Exhibition, Evansville Museum, Evansville IN
2008: threehundredsix, Hoffman LaChance Gallery, St Louis, MO
2008: Cortona Program Exhibition, University of Georgia, Athens, GA
2008: Personal Allegories: Jesse Thomas and Ian Weaver, Milestone Gallery, COCA, St. Louis, MO
2007: Faculty Exhibition, Palazzo Casali, Cortona Italy
2006: 53rd Mid-States Art Exhibition, Evansville Museum, Evansville IN
2006: Earthworks: Art for an Endangered Planet, Regional Arts Commission, St Louis, MO
2006: Faculty Exhibition, Frontbonne University Gallery, St. Louis, MO
2004: WUSTL Faculty Exhibition, Kemper Museum, St. Louis, MO
2002: Dreamy, Fort Gondo Compound for the Arts, St, Louis, MO
1998: The Ghost of Cornell, Contemporary Art Center, New Orleans, LA
TEACHING EXPERIENCE
2012 – Present: Assistant Professor in Painting, Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Alberta, Edmonton AB
2003 – 2012: Lecturer in Drawing, Painting, Color Systems, 2D, Washington University, St. Louis, MO
June 1 – 30, 2007: Lecturer in Painting, Florence, Italy Summer Program, Washington University, St. Louis, MO
June 1 – 30, 2005: Lecturer in Painting, Florence, Italy Summer Program, Washington University, St. Louis, MO
July 2004, 2010, 2011: Instructor, Drawing, Portfolio Plus Program, Washington University, St. Louis, MO
2006 – 2012: Instructor, Adult Drawing Classes, St Louis Art Museum, St. Louis, MO
Sept – Nov, 2007: Lecturer, Painting and Drawing, Cortona Italy, University of Georgia Studies Abroad Program
SELECTED ARTICLES, MAGAZINES, & CATALOGUES
UAlberta News and Events, Video: Ualberta Painter first to exhibit at Chinese University. Groundbreaking show offers Chinese Students awindow on the evolution of Western art. Published February 7, 2017.
https://www.ualberta.ca/news-and-events/newsarticles/2017/february/video...
Curious Arts “Jesse Thomas: Songs from the Labyrinth” by TJ Jans. Published February 10, 2015,
http://www.curiousarts.ca/jesse-thomas-songs-labyrinth
Galleries West online, Agnieszka Matejko, JESSE THOMAS: "Songs From the Labyrinth," Fine Arts Building Gallery, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Jan. 20 to Feb. 14, 2015
http://www.gallerieswest.ca/art-reviews/exhibition-reviews/jesse-thomas%...
Josh Greschner, “FAB Gallery Exhibition Explores Music,” The Gateway, Volume 105, Issue 22, January 21, 2015, 16
http://thegatewayonline.ca/2015/01/gallery-preview-songs-labyrinth/
Michelle Falk, “Songs from the Labyrinth,” Vue, February 5-11, 2015, Issue 1006, 13
http://www.vueweekly.com/songs-labyrinth-reality-wrapped-dream/
Artist Statement
Jesse Thomas is an Assistant Professor and Coordinator of Painting in the Department of Art and Design at The University of Alberta. He received an MFA in Painting from Washington University in Saint Louis in 2003 and a BFA in Painting and Drawing from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 1993. His 2016 solo exhibition at the Zhengzhou University of Light Industry in China consisted of 50 works representing the past 5 years of his studio production. Previous solo exhibitions of his paintings have been held in Edmonton, St Louis, Chicago, San Francisco, and New Orleans. Jesse previously taught painting, drawing, and 2D design at Washington University in St Louis. He’s also taught painting and drawing in Cortona, Italy for the University of Georgia and for U of A Study Abroad as well as painting courses in Florence, Italy for WUSTL
Jesse Thomas’ compositions are constructed from several spheres or lenses of observation, such as the constructed (history, culture, personal identity, nostalgia) and the empirical (imagery drawn from direct observation). His paintings and drawings unfold in dream-like, delineated narratives which leave much for the viewer to explore, both on a visual level and on a cerebral plane. Curious Arts 2015