Ian F. Thomas

Artist Statement

“Everything can be linked together in some fashion, in either a physical, psychological, or symbolic manner.” (Buckminster Fuller)

In 1975, the year before I was born, my grandfather, an industrial arts instructor, willed me a collection of unrelated curiosities. Among these seemingly unrelated objects were tools, measuring devices, and jars full of oddities.

As a child, through play, I would create/construct identities and stories for these bizarre unrelated objects. The older I got, play shifted to questioning, and I searched these groupings for meanings, while trying to understand the disconnected relevance to myself (or, even, my life, or, who I am).

This innocent comparative analysis of visual objects to create a dialogue has been a model for my creative research. A non-linear exploration conflates past and present, while objects of commonplace import are imbued with simultaneity, coupling personal narratives and sociological observations with a symbolic mythos developed through years of refinement. Metaphoric and anthropocentric, the work sorts my declarations, my attempts at personal and social understanding, and my opinions of the self.

Bio

Thomas has exhibited at The David Winton Bell Gallery, Virginia Museum of Art, Fuller Craft Museum, Bellevue Museum, Hunter College NYC, and the Nasher Sculpture Museum. His work has been exhibited in China, Slovakia, Dubai, Tel Aviv, and all across the

United States. His works have been included in over a dozen publications. Additionally, he has presented lectures/workshops at over 25 institutions, including Harvard University, Cornell University, Queens College, and Syracuse University.

Thomas is the Art Department Chair and Associate Professor of Art at Allegheny College in Meadville, PA.