Hank Willis Thomas
5212 Broadway, Oakland, CA 94618, United States
California College of the Arts where Hank Willis received a Master of Fine Arts degree in Photography and a Master of Arts degree in Visual and Critical Studies.
2015
Hank Willis Thomas and photographer Graciela Iturbide at the International Center of Photography 31st annual Infinity Awards at Pier Sixty at Chelsea Piers on April 30, 2015, in New York City. Photo by Jemal Countess.
2015
(From left to right) Infinity Award winners Hank Willis Thomas, Bayete Ross Smith, and Chris Johnson speak onstage at the International Center of Photography 31st annual Infinity Awards at Pier Sixty at Chelsea Piers on April 30, 2015, in New York City. Photo by Jemal Countess.
2016
Hank Willis Thomas (left) with guests at Art For Social Justice, Usher Raymond IV, Daniel Arhsam and TIDAL debut Chains at Urban Zen on January 29, 2016, in New York City. Photo by Michael Loccisano.
2018
Hank Willis Thomas and David Maupin (right) at Mickalene Thomas and Racquel Chevremont Present Deux Femme Noirs at The Edition Hotel on March 5, 2018, in New York City. Photo by Paul Bruinooge.
Hank Willis Thomas speaks onstage Art For Social Justice, Usher Raymond IV, Daniel Arhsam and TIDAL debut Chains at Urban Zen on January 29, 2016, in New York City. Photo by Michael Loccisano.
(From left to right) Luren Benenson, Hank Willis Thomas, and Rujeko Hockley at 2016 MoMA Party In The Garden Benefit at Museum of Modern Art on June 1, 2016, in New York City. Photo by Liam McMullan.
(From left to right) Wyatt Gallery, Michelle Woo, and Hank Willis Thomas at International Center of Photography 33rd Annual Infinity Awards at Pier Sixty at Chelsea Piers on April 24, 2017, in New York City. Photo by Paul Bruinooge.
Hank Willis Thomas speaks at the 2018 Aperture Gala at Cedar Lake on October 30, 2018, in New York City. Photo by Sean Zanni.
(From left to right) Mel Schaffer, Ann Schaffer, Hank Willis Thomas, and Carolina Alvarez-Mathies at 2018 Aperture Gala at Cedar Lake on October 30, 2018, in New York City. Photo by Patrick McMullan.
Hank Willis Thomas speaks at The Gordon Parks Foundation 2019 Annual Awards Dinner And Auction at Cipriani 42nd Street on June 04, 2019, in New York City. Photo by Sean Zanni.
2017
Hank Willis Thomas (center) with Aimia Curator and Director, Community Engagement Alden Hadwen (left) and the AGO’s CEO and Michael and Sonja Koerner Director Stephan Jost (right).
2012
Hank Willis Thomas at 'Put the Twitter Down and Back Away with Your Hands Up' premiere held at New Frontier on Main during the 2012 Sundance Film Festival on January 20, 2012 in Park City, Utah. Photo by Joe Scarnici.
2012
Hank Willis Thomas at The Creative Coaltion's Tribute Dinner to Women Who Make Women Look Good on Film (And The Men Who Love Them!) at The Supper Club on January 23, 2012 in Park City, Utah. Photo by Todd Oren.
2014
Hank Willis Thomas at the SI Short Film Challenge during the Sundance London Film and Music Festival 2014 at 02 Arena on April 27, 2014, in London, United Kingdom. Photo by Tim P. Whitby.
2015
Hank Willis Thomas and photographer Graciela Iturbide at the International Center of Photography 31st annual Infinity Awards at Pier Sixty at Chelsea Piers on April 30, 2015, in New York City. Photo by Jemal Countess.
2015
(From left to right) Infinity Award winners Hank Willis Thomas, Bayete Ross Smith, and Chris Johnson speak onstage at the International Center of Photography 31st annual Infinity Awards at Pier Sixty at Chelsea Piers on April 30, 2015, in New York City. Photo by Jemal Countess.
2016
Hank Willis Thomas (left) with guests at Art For Social Justice, Usher Raymond IV, Daniel Arhsam and TIDAL debut Chains at Urban Zen on January 29, 2016, in New York City. Photo by Michael Loccisano.
2017
Hank Willis Thomas (center) with Aimia Curator and Director, Community Engagement Alden Hadwen (left) and the AGO’s CEO and Michael and Sonja Koerner Director Stephan Jost (right).
2017
Hank Willis Thomas at International Center of Photography 33rd Annual Infinity Awards at Pier Sixty at Chelsea Piers on April 24, 2017, in New York City. Photo by Paul Bruinooge.
2018
Hank Willis Thomas and David Maupin (right) at Mickalene Thomas and Racquel Chevremont Present Deux Femme Noirs at The Edition Hotel on March 5, 2018, in New York City. Photo by Paul Bruinooge.
5212 Broadway, Oakland, CA 94618, United States
California College of the Arts where Hank Willis received a Master of Fine Arts degree in Photography and a Master of Arts degree in Visual and Critical Studies.
Hank Willis Thomas with his mother Deborah Willis at Art For Social Justice, Usher Raymond IV, Daniel Arhsam and TIDAL debut Chains at Urban Zen on January 29, 2016, in New York City. Photo by Michael Loccisano.
Hank Willis Thomas speaks onstage Art For Social Justice, Usher Raymond IV, Daniel Arhsam and TIDAL debut Chains at Urban Zen on January 29, 2016, in New York City. Photo by Michael Loccisano.
Hank Willis Thomas with his wife Rujeko Hockley at Rat The Gordon Parks Foundation 10th Anniversary Awards Dinner and Auction at Cipriani 42nd Street on May 24, 2016, in New York City. Photo by Patrick McMullan.
(From left to right) Luren Benenson, Hank Willis Thomas, and Rujeko Hockley at 2016 MoMA Party In The Garden Benefit at Museum of Modern Art on June 1, 2016, in New York City. Photo by Liam McMullan.
(From left to right) Wyatt Gallery, Michelle Woo, and Hank Willis Thomas at International Center of Photography 33rd Annual Infinity Awards at Pier Sixty at Chelsea Piers on April 24, 2017, in New York City. Photo by Paul Bruinooge.
Hank Willis Thomas with his wife Rujeko Hockley at Kickstarter dinner in honor of Art Basel and Artist Glenn Kaino & Olympian Tommie Smith at The Standard Spa, Miami at The Standard Spa on December 8, 2017, in Miami Beach, Florida. Photo by Ilya S. Savenok.
Hank Willis Thomas speaks at the 2018 Aperture Gala at Cedar Lake on October 30, 2018, in New York City. Photo by Sean Zanni.
Hank Willis Thomas with his mother Deborah Willis at 2018 Aperture Gala at Cedar Lake on October 30, 2018, in New York City. Photo by Patrick McMullan.
(From left to right) Mel Schaffer, Ann Schaffer, Hank Willis Thomas, and Carolina Alvarez-Mathies at 2018 Aperture Gala at Cedar Lake on October 30, 2018, in New York City. Photo by Patrick McMullan.
Hank Willis Thomas speaks at The Gordon Parks Foundation 2019 Annual Awards Dinner And Auction at Cipriani 42nd Street on June 04, 2019, in New York City. Photo by Sean Zanni.
Photographer Deborah Willis, Hank Willis Thomas's mother.
Art curator Rujeko Hockley, Hank Willis Thomas's wife.
Hank Willis Thomas was born on March 17, 1976, in Plainfield, New Jersey, United States. He is a son of a Deborah Willis, a photographer, and Hank Thomas, a jazz musician, producer, real estate developer and stock broker. Thomas’s maternal grandfather was a photographer as well.
Hank Willis studied photography at New York University and obtained his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 1998. It was followed by a Master of Fine Arts degree in Photography and a Master of Arts in Visual and Critical Studies from the California College of the Arts six years later.
In 2017, Willis was bestowed honorary doctorates of philosophy by the Maryland Institute College of Art and the Institute for Doctoral Studies in the Visual Arts.
The start of Hank Willis's career can be counted from early 2000 when he took part in his first solo and group shows. Since then, the artist has exhibited nationally and internationally in such venues as the International Center of Photography, New York City, Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, Hong Kong Arts Centre, and the Witte de With Center for Contemporary Art, Netherlands to name a few.
A multidisciplinary artist, Thomas has been involved in a variety of art projects that turn around identity and popular culture in one way or another. In 2016, along with an artist Eric Gottesman, he founded ‘For Freedoms’ art platform the main goal of which is the civic engagement of the United States artists. The institution has launched several major projects, including 50 State Initiative of 2018 which gathered about 150 modern artists. Other collaborative initiatives of Willis include ‘Question Bridge: Black Males’ and ‘In Search of The Truth’ (The Truth Booth).
The artist has also curated a number of art events and has worked on public commissions as well. The permanent installation by him can be seen at The National Memorial for Peace and Justice in Montgomery, Alabama.
Hank Willis Thomas has tried his hand in academics lecturing around the universities and art institutions of the United States and abroad, including California College of the Arts, San Francisco, the International Center for Photography, New York City, Yale School of Art, New Haven, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, among others.
Nowadays, Thomas lives and works in New York City. His art is represented by Jack Shainman Gallery, New York City, Ben Brown Fine Arts, London, and Hong Kong, and Goodman Gallery, South Africa.
The recent exhibition of Hank Willis was organized in autumn 2019 by the Portland Art Museum. It turns around American history and the perception of race questions in politics and mass culture.
Hank Willis Thomas is an accomplished conceptual artist whose works are recognized both by critics and art amateurs.
During the course of his career, Thomas has received the ICP Infinity Award for New Media and Online Platform, AIMIA/AGO Photography Prize, and Aperture West Book Prize. He has been a recipient of the Guggenheim Fellowship, Renew Media Arts Fellowship from the Rockefeller Foundation, and Soros Equality Fellowship.
Quotations:
"I am interested in the ways that popular imagery informs how people perceive themselves and others around the world."
"Whoever’s holding the frame gets to tell us the story and shape our vision."
Hank Willis Thomas is a member of the New York City Public Design Commission.
Quotes from others about the person
"Thomas’s work 'unbrands' advertising: stripping away the commercial context, and leaving the exposed image to speak for itself." Arwa Mahdawi, The Guardian critic
