90 Artists Magazine January/February 2020
Oregon
HANK WILLIS THOMAS:
ALL THINGS BEING EQUAL ...
PORTLAND ART MUSEUM • PORTLAND, ORE.
PORTLANDARTMUSEUM.ORG
THROUGH JANUARY 12, 2020Must-see museum exhibitions
DO
NOW
“Hank Willis Thomas: All Things Being
Equal ...” is the first exhibition in
which the artist’s works— sculpture,
photography, video and collaborative
art projects—have been shown
together in a comprehensive survey.
Thomas uses art to confront and
address the innate systems and pro-
cesses in the United States that serve
to underpin inequality and bias. “He
invites us to consider the role of popu-
lar culture in instituting discriminationand the way art can raise critical aware-
ness in the ongoing struggle for social
justice and civil rights,” reads a press
release from the museum.
The show features nearly 100
works of art, including photos from
Thomas’ early series, recent sculp-
tures inspired by archival photos
from the 20th century, quilts made
from sports jerseys and prison uni-
forms, interactive pieces and public
installations. To coincide with theexhibition, Portland Art Museum sup-
ported the creation of a new work by
the artist, a large-scale flag meant to
address the lives lost to gun violence
in 2018. The flag was raised at the
entry to the exhibition.
The exhibition will be on display
at the Crystal Bridges Museum of
American Art, in Bentonville, Ark.,
from February 8 through April 27, and
then at the Cincinnati Museum of Art
from July 10 through September 27.ABOVE
We The People
decommissioned
prison uniforms
mounted on
Sintra support,
73 ¼x88¼
COLLECTION OF
ALBRIGHT-KNOX ART
GALLERY, BUFFALO,
NEW YORK; IMAGE
COURTESY OF THE
ARTIST AND JACK
SHAINMAN GALLERY,
NEW YORK © HANK
WILLIS THOMASLEFT
Guernica
mixed media,
including sports
jerseys, 131x281
PRIVATE COLLECTION;
COURTESY OF THE
ARTIST AND JACK
SHAINMAN GALLERY,
NEW YORK; ©HANK
WILLIS THOMAS