Thomas' Work, from Glass to Installation, Part of TravelLing Craft in America Exhibit
Well the dust is finally settling now that hundreds of ceramic tea bowl's have been boxed and crated out of the studio! Art and Other Tactics: Contemporary Craft by Veteran Artists opens next week at the Craft and Folk Art Museum in Los Angeles. This exhibit will travel California for the good part of a year. Here's a brief description in the words of the curator, Emily Zaiden:
The first major exhibition to explore the powerful role that craft has played as a channel for creativity, expression and transformation in the lives of artist veterans since World War II, Art and Other Tactics: Contemporary Craft by Artist Veterans will convey the contributions of artist veterans and the pathways that craft has taken through their visionary work. The exhibition will examine the way that military service has impacted the outlook of artists over seven decades and led numerous veterans to pursue creative channels. Bridging between earlier craft philosophy to current day practices, at its core, Art and Other Tactics will explore how craft is a constructive antidote to the war experience.
Thomas' work will be in good company. Other artists included are Thomas' mentor Paul Soldner, William Daley, Otto Heino, Peter Voulkos, Phil Cornelius, and Val Cushing. Among these greats are many younger artists that Thomas has had the good fortune to get to know: Jill Allen, Ehren Tool, Giuseppe Pellicano, Drew Cameron, Jessie Albrecht and Daniel Donovan, to name a few.
This exhibit opens at the Craft and Folk Art Museum in L.A. on May 23rd and then travels to the Museum of Craft in Design in San Francisco where there will be a second opening in late September. Please see the Craft in America website for more details.