Project Description

Jeremy Thomas Sculpture

b. 1973, Oklahoma

Admirers of Jeremy Thomas’ sculpture should be grateful to a thief. Thomas came to the College of Santa Fe to study Studio Arts as a painter and printmaker, both of which he had been doing since high school, even apprenticing with a master printmaker in his native Oklahoma. However, one semester while moving out of his dormitory, with boxes and bags piled around, the wooden box which held all of his brushes and painting supplies went missing. One moment it was on the curb, the next it was gone. Thus ended Thomas’ career as a painter. The next semester he took a sculpting class and never turned back.

While Thomas is happy to converse about theory and concept, he is most content thinking of himself as a maker of objects rather than an “artist”. To him, the label of “artist” is a mantle placed onto a person by society, which in the current day has as much to do with trends as it does with the production of great work. He is insistent that making objects is a natural impulse for all humans. Some people make pies or spread-sheets, some make books or sculptures.

It is the pragmatic that draws Thomas. Asked about his influences he asserts that his primary influences do not come from the realm of art but rather from everyday living. “I don’t eat, sleep, and breathe art,” he comments. His discovery of metal-working arose in a similar, practical way. Thomas had been sculpting with stone and asked someone to show him how to forge his own chisel. This was the start of his exploration of forging techniques and after a time he gave up working with stone to work with metal. One of the key aspects of blacksmithing that intrigued Thomas was fact that it isn’t instantly gratifying, and it poses questions that aren’t easily solved. He interned with Tom Joyce (recipient of a MacArthur genius grant) and later worked in Santa Fe as a blacksmith creating items as diverse as fireplace screens and light fixtures, but always continuing to make the objects of “art”.

His current inflatable steel sculpting technique is something he stumbled upon during a demo for one of his sculpture classes. Steel, Thomas says, has a clay-like malleability at high temperatures. He welds forms together which can be heated and injected with pressurized air, causing them to inflate and “grow” into their final shape. The final pieces contain paradoxes: metal molded by air, sensual forms in forceful fetish-finish primary colors gleaned from tractor manufacturers. These sculptures are changeable (as one continuously finds new approaches in their creases, angles, and wrinkles); they allow a dialogue between viewer and work. Thomas says he engages in an ongoing dialogue, a give and take, with his materials. He says, “Art is the science of play”, a creed that Thomas takes to heart, both in his work and in his life.

EDUCATION
1996
BFA, The College of Santa Fe, Santa Fe, NM
1996
Internship, artist blacksmith Tom Joyce, Santa Fe, NM
1994
Internship intaglio printmaking, painter/printmaker Jean Richardson, Oklahoma City, OK
1992
Oklahoma Summer Arts Institute, with artist Deloss McGraw
1991
Oklahoma Summer Arts Institute, with artist Robert Z. Rahway
 
AWARDS, GRANTS, AND HONORS
1995
Visual Arts Advisory Council Outstanding Junior Award
1995
The College of Santa Fe Outstanding Junior Award Academic Year
1994
The College of Santa Fe Outstanding Sophomore Award
 
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2019
2019
Gallerie Renate Bender Munich, DE
2019
Charlotte Jackson Fine Art, Santa Fe, NM
2018
Analog, Galerie Richard, New York, NY
2017
Nonfunctional Slack-fill, Bentley Gallery, Phoenix, AZ
2017
Sensualminimalphysical Galerie Renate Bender, Munich, DE
2016
Grown Cold, Charlotte Jackson Fine Art, Santa Fe, NM
2016
Tanked, Galerie Richard, New York, NY
2015
Bursting at the Seams, Bentley Gallery, Phoenix, AZ
2014
Ditching the Cardigan, Charlotte Jackson Fine Art, Santa Fe, NM
2014
Highly Sensuous, Galerie Renate Bender, Munich, DE
2013
Camber, Bentley Gallery, Scottsdale, AZ
2013
(untitled) Peter Blake Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA
2012
Dialogues in steel, Charlotte Jackson Fine Art, Santa Fe, NM
2009
Boll, Charlotte Jackson Fine Art, Santa Fe, NM
2009
Cotton Module, Samuel Freeman, Santa Monica, CA
2008
Implement, Jackson Fine Art and Charlotte Jackson Project Space, Santa Fe, NM
2007
(untitled), Patricia Faure Gallery, Santa Monica, CA
2006
Inflatables, Charlotte Jackson Fine Art, Santa Fe, NM
1996
Element and Image, College of Santa Fe, Fine Arts Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
 
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2019
Embodying Color, Kunsthalle Wiesbaden Soest, DE
2018
Gocha, Galerie Richard, Paris, FR
2018
Star Gazing; a Group Exhibition, Charlotte Jackson Fine Art, Santa Fe, NM
2018
Spring Break, Charlotte Jackson Fine Art, Santa Fe, NM
2018
Ecken und Kanten – Edges and Ridges, Galerie Renate Bender, Munich
2018
Joyful: a group exhibition, Charlotte Jackson Fine Art, Santa Fe, NM
2017
Purple Passion, Charlotte Jackson Fine Art, Santa Fe, NM
2017
Heavy Metal, Charlotte Jackson Fine Art Santa Fe, NM
2017
Power Play, Charlotte Jackson Fine Art, Santa Fe, NM
2017
Sleeping Beauty, Charlotte Jackson Fine Art, Santa Fe, NM
2017
Treasure Hunt, Charlotte Jackson Fine Art, Santa Fe, NM
2107
The Wild West, Galerie Richard, New York, NY
2016
Art for Art’s Sake, Carnegie Museum of Art, Oxnard, CA
2016
Emergence, Charlotte Jackson Fine Art, Santa Fe, NM
2016
The Quilted Sky, Charlotte Jackson Fine Art, Santa Fe NM
2016
Off The Wall, Bentley Gallery, Phoenix, AZ
2016
50 Shades of Red, Galerie Renate Bender, Munich, Germany
2016
Pink Crush, Charlotte Jackson Fine Art, Santa Fe, NM
2016
Zwei Freunde aus Deutschland, Schauraum Multipleart Zurich, Switzerland
2015
Bursting at the Seams, Bentley Gallery, Phoenix, AZ
2015
Field Of Dreams, Charlotte Jackson Fine Art, Santa Fe, NM
2015
Spring-Group exhibition, Charlotte Jackson Fine Art, Santa Fe, NM
2015
Back to Basics: Selections from the Fredrick Wiesman Art Foundation, Fredrick R. Wiesman Museum of Art, Malibu, CA
2015
Heatwave, Charlotte Jackson Fine Art, Santa Fe, NM
2015
All that Glitters, Charlotte Jackson Fine Art, Santa Fe, NM
2015
COLOR, Charlotte Jackson Fine Art, Santa Fe, NM
2015
12 artists 3 dimensions, Bentley Gallery, Phoenix, AZ
2015
Regularly Speaking, Bentley Gallery, Phoenix, AZ
2015
Winter-Group Exhibition, Charlotte Jackson Fine Art, Santa Fe, NM
2015
Embodying Colour, Künstlerhaus Metternich, Koblenz, Germany
2014
Off The Wall, Charlotte Jackson Fine Art, Santa Fe,NM
2014
Fifty/Fifty, Charlotte Jackson Fine Art, Santa Fe, NM
2014
Charlotte Jackson Fine Art, Santa Fe NM
2014
Heavy Metal, Galerie Renate Bender, Munich, Germany
2014
Embodying Colour, Vasarely Muzeum, Budapest, Hungery
2014
Gallery Artists, Bentley Gallery Phoenix, AZ
2014
Faszination Farbe, Kunsthaus Furstenfeldbruck, Furstenfeldbruck, Germany
2014
Wiendersehen Wiesbaden, Schauraum Multiple Art, Zurich, Switzerland
2014
Art for Art’s Sake, Marjorie Barrick Museum, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, NV
2014
Group Show, Charlotte Jackson Fine Art, Santa Fe NM
2013
Rouge, Chery Hazan Contemporary, New York, NY
2013
Learning to See: Josef Albers and the Interaction of Color, Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, Scottsdale, AZ
2012
Dialogue in Steel, Charlotte Jackson Fine Art, Santa Fe, NM
2012
Pink, group exhibition, Charlotte Jackson Fine Art, Santa Fe, NM
2011
Monochrome, Jackson Fine Art, Santa Fe, NM
2011
Black, White, and Red, Charlotte Jackson Fine Art, Santa Fe, NM
2010
Group exhibition of Small Works, Bentley Gallery, Scottsdale, AZ
2010
Thirty Years of Collecting: Recent Gift to the Museum, Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, Scottsdale, AZ
2009
Common ground: Color, Charlotte Jackson Fine Art, Santa Fe, NM
2007
Purple Rain, Charlotte Jackson Fine Art, Santa Fe, NM
2007
Off The Wall, Charlotte Jackson Project Space, Santa Fe, NM
2006
That’s Hot, Charlotte Jackson Fine Art, Santa Fe, NM
2006
Site Unseen 4, Site Santa Fe, Santa Fe, NM
2006
Clockwork Orange, Charlotte Jackson Fine Art, Santa Fe, NM
2006
Collect 8, Center for Contemporary Art, Santa Fe, NM
2005
Yellow Show, Charlotte Jackson Fine Art, Santa Fe, NM
2005
Group Show, Rocket Gallery, London, UK
2005
Objects of Desire, Charlotte Jackson Fine Art, Santa Fe, NM
2005
Collect New Mexico, the Museum Of Fine Art, Santa Fe, NM
2004
By Invitation, Charlotte Jackson Fine Art, Santa Fe, NM
2004
The Grass is Not Greener, Charlotte Jackson Fine Art, Santa Fe, NM
2004
Rocket Gallery, London, UK
2004
Selections, Santa Fe Art Institute, Santa Fe, NM
2004
Monothon 18, College of Santa Fe, Tishman Hall, Santa Fe, NM
2004
Site Unseen, James Kelly Fine Art, Santa Fe, NM
2003
Santa Fe Emerging Artist Expo, Santa Fe, NM
2002
Monothon 16, Site Santa Fe, Santa Fe, NM
2001
Monothon 15, College of Santa Fe, Tishman Hall
2001
Pojoaque Art Tour Group Exhibition, Sanchez Gallery, Pojoeque, NM
2001
Jett Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
2000
Monothon 14, Site Santa Fe, Santa Fe, NM
1999
Monothon 13, Site Santa Fe, Santa Fe, NM
1996
Element and Image: Two Thesis Exhibitions, College of Santa Fe, Fine Arts Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
1996
Composite: 12th Annual Student Art Exhibition, College of Santa Fe, Fine Arts Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
1996
Bricktown Gallery, Oklahoma City, OK
1995
11th Annual Student Art Exhibition, College of Santa Fe, Fine Arts Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
1995
The College of Santa Fe Faculty and Student Art Show, Fuller Lodge Art Center, Los Alamos, NM
1995
The Short and Tall of it All, La Baguette French Bistro, Oklahoma City, OK
1994
Inn of the Anasazi, Santa Fe, NM
1994
Artists In the Rough: 10th Anniversary Student Art Exhibition, College of Santa Fe, Fine Arts Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
1993
CSF Student Art Exhibition, College of Santa Fe, Fine Arts Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
1993
Quartz Mountain Collection ‘92, Goodard Art Center, Ardmore, OK
1993
Philbrook Arts Center, Tulsa, OK
1993
City Arts Center, Oklahoma City, OK
1993
Quartz Mountain Arts and Conference Center, Lone Wolf, OK
1992
Young Talent in Oklahoma, City Arts Center, Oklahoma City, OK
1992
Quartz Mountain Collection ‘91, Philbrook Arts Center, Tulsa, OK
1992
Oklahoma City Arts Museum, Oklahoma City, OK
1991
Young Talent in Oklahoma, City Arts Center, Oklahoma City, OK
 
COLLECTIONS
Albright-Knox Gallery, Buffalo, New York
Fidelity Investments, Boston, MA
J Crew, London, UK
Kunstsammlung F. Hoffman-LaRoche AG, Basel, Switzerland
New Mexico Museum of Fine Arts, Santa Fe, NM
Quartz Mountain Arts and Conference Center Lone Wolf, OK (destroyed by fire)
Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art Scottsdale, AZ
Weisman Foundation
 
PUBLICATIONS
2015
Contemporary Sculpture Portfolio, Arts and Antiques, pg. 45, June 2015
2014
Jeremy Thomas Breathes Life (and Air) into Steel, Artsy Editorial, May 2, 2014
2013
Embodying Colour, Exhibition Catalogue, Kunsthaus Wiesbaden, Wiesbaden, Germany, 2013
2012
Faltwelten- It’s All in the Fold, Exhibition Catalogue, Galerie Renate Bender, Munchen, Germany, 2012
2012
Exhibitionism, Pasatiempo, pg.78, April 27 – May 3, 2012
2012
Bentley Gallery-Palm Springs Fine Art Fair-2012, Aopublic.com, February 2012
2011
Art Basel Miami Beach: The Tenth Year, Neimanmarcus.com, December 2011
2011
Sheets to burn, fire to sculpt, Lanciatrendvisions.com, May 2011
2009
Jeremy Thomas: Boll, THE magazine, pg 42, October 2009
2007
Frame of Mind, Santa Fean, pg 43, Oct/Nov 2007
2006
Collins, Tom, Not For The Faint Of Heart, Albuquerque Journal North, pg.S8, May 26, 2006
2006
Fischer, Zane, Here and There, Santa Fe Reporter, pg.34, May 10-16, 2006
2006
Santa Fe Gallery Openings, Albuquerque Journal North, pg. S5, Jan. 13th 2006
2006
Ongoing at the galleries, Pasatiempo, pg. 67, Jan 20-26, 2006
2005
Edgy to established, Santa Fe New Mexican, pg. D-1, May 29, 2005
2005
An International Incident, Santa Fe New Mexican, pg. D-1, July 26, 2005
2004
Santa Fe Galleries A Guide for the Rest of us, Pasatiempo, Pgs.28, 29, 31,37,39,46,48,49,55, Dec, 2004
2004
Pasatiempo, pg. 80, Feb. 6, 2004
2004
THE Magazine, pg. 46, Dec/Jan 2003-04
1996
Offsite in View and Two Theses, Santa Fe Reporter, pg. 31, May 8-14, 1996
1995
11th Annual Student Art Exhibition, THE Magazine, pg. 61, May 1995
1994
Pasatiempo, May 6, 1994
1994
Albuquerque Journal North, May 5, 1994
1993
College Art Students Vie For Prizes, Recognition at Show, Pasatiempo, April 2, 1993

Artsy Editorial: Jeremy Thomas Breathes Life (and Air) Into Steel
Jeremy Thomas describes his sculptural practice as an ongoing relationship between material, form, and the intense physical act of manipulation. Though his work is popular among collectors, his process is better known to blacksmiths than anyone in the fine art community. Thomas’s graceful fusion of blue-collar work ethic and sculptural practice creates works just as impactful in the outdoors as they are in gallery settings.