Abstraction

HANK WILLIS THOMAS (B. 1976)

Abstraction

quilted NBA jerseys

78 x 78 1/4 inches (198.1 x 198.8 cm)

framed: 80 x 80 inches (203.2 x 203.2 cm)

Executed in 2024.

PROVENANCE:

Private collection, New York

NOTES:

Hank Willis Thomas, born in 1976 in New Jersey, is a conceptual artist whose multidisciplinary practice often explores themes of identity, history, and popular culture. A trained photographer, Thomas frequently utilizes recognizable icons from advertising, branding and mass media, encouraging viewers to interrogate the commercial imagery that shapes cultural perception and racial stereotypes. Describing himself as a “visual cultural archaeologist,” he excavates the symbols and messages embedded in everyday life, revealing how these images influence self-perception and societal values. His work spans photography, sculpture, installation, and public art, often designed to invite active viewer participation. Thomas’ work has been widely exhibited at institutions such as the International Center of Photography in New York, the Baltimore Museum of Art, the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, among others, and is held in major collections including the Whitney Museum of American Art and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum.

In this quilted work, Abstraction, Thomas stitches together pieces of NBA jerseys to create a dynamic and celebratory tribute to basketball legends. Inspired by quilting traditions rooted in the African-American South, Thomas reimagines the familiar material of sports culture–uniforms–through a lens of craft and communal memory. Speaking to GQ, Thomas explained his choice to work with jerseys "It was hard to narrow it down, but essentially I wanted to highlight people who literally were larger than life,” he said. "[People] that when you think of them, you can also think legend, like each of them did one or two or a dozen things that people thought was impossible." The vibrant composition captures the energy and movement of the game while simultaneously honoring the historic tradition of quilting as a mode of storytelling and cultural preservation. Through his fusion of unexpected materials and historical techniques, Thomas continues his exploration of how popular imagery forms a collective narrative.

Thomas’ work has been exhibited throughout the United States and abroad, including at the Philadelphia Photo Arts Center (2008); Baltimore Museum of Art (2009); International Center of Photography, New York (2013); California African American Museum, Los Angeles (2016); and SCAD Museum of Art, Savannah, Georgia (2017). His work has been included in important group exhibitions at the International Center of Photography, New York (2013); Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, Spain (2015); Brooklyn Museum, New York (2016); and the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa, Cape Town (2016), among others. His work is held in numerous public collections worldwide, including the Kadist Art Foundation, Paris; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; Smart Museum of Art, Chicago; Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York; and the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York.