RELIGIOUS ART | NEWS OF WEEK

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By Gregory & Ernest Disney-Britton

Hank Willis Thomas (b. 1976, Plainfield, NJ; lives and works in Brooklyn, NY)

Hank Willis Thomas is a conceptual artist, and we hung his "Plate" in our home this week. Working in photography, sculpture, mixed media, and video, his works are in public and private collections around the world. We are slightly newer fans because of his 2018 "For Freedoms" photo series, and we just saw his "Raise Up" sculpture at Alabama's lynching memorial. Thomas' first comprehensive survey, Hank Willis Thomas: All Things Being Equal… opens on October 12 at the Portland Art Museum, and that's why Hank Willis Thomas is our artist of the week.

Plate, 2019 Dye sublimation print on ceramic plate 10 3/4 in diameter 27.3 cm diameter This is part of a limited edition set.

NEWS OF 2008-2019 from across the USA, and around the world:

• Buddhist Art of Week: Temples in Thailand Look Like Art Museums [More News]
• Christian Art of Week: The Bob Jones University's Art Collection in Patheos  [More News]
• Hindu Art of Week: Chithkala Ramesh's Art is Simple and Engaging [More News]
• Islamic Art of Week: A Sound and Art Show Fills Voice for NYC Muslims [More News]
• Jewish Art of Week: Fourth Jerusalem Biennale for Contemporary Jewish Art [More News]

Are you an artist? Are you a collector? If you like what you see each week, please invite a friend to subscribe to our periodic e-newsletter. You can also follow us weekly on Twitter, Facebook, or Soundcloud but only subscribers can vote for the Alpha Omega Prize. It is our annual recognition each November 1st of one artist's impact on religious dialogue in America.

Hank Willis Thomas's "I Am A Man" (2009); Paintings, Liquitex on canvas; Installed: 55 ½ x 228 x 2 1/4 inches; Per Panel: 25 1/4 x 19 1/4 x 2 1/4 inches

Hank Willis Thomas, “Raise Up,” on the grounds of the Memorial for Peace and Justice. Inspired by a 1960s photograph by Ernest Cole of South African miners, it suggests police suspects lined up at gunpoint.

Hank Willis Thomas (American, 1976–) and Emily Shur (American), Freedom of Worship, 2018. While Norman Rockwell’s illustration of the same name contains specific representations of Protestantism, Catholicism, and Judaism, this reinterpretation goes even further to include Islam, Native American spirituality, and Sikhism.

Hank Willis Thomas (American, born 1976). We The People, 2015. Quilt made out of decommissioned prison uniforms. 73 1/4 x 88 1/4 inches. Image courtesy of the Portland Museum of Art.