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Contemporary artist Hank Willis Thomas will discuss his We the People series in which he transforms prison uniforms into handmade quilts, exploring how they relate to the works on view in the War and Pieced exhibition.

A Critical Walk-Through is a 40-minute guided tour that is meant to offer an alternative perspective to the works on view. They include conversations with artists, scholars, and curators, providing an intimate opportunity to engage with the central themes and histories found in the artwork. The program is limited to 25 individuals.

Hank Willis Thomas is a conceptual artist working primarily with themes related to identity, history, and popular culture. His work has been exhibited throughout the United States and abroad, including the International Center of Photography, Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, Musée du quai Branly, and the Cleveland Museum of Art. Thomas’ work is in numerous public collections including the Museum of Modern Art New York, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Brooklyn Museum, the High Museum of Art, and the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC, among others. His collaborative projects include “Question Bridge: Black Males, In Search of the Truth (The Truth Booth),” and “For Freedoms,” which Thomas co-founded in 2016 as the first artist-run super PAC. “For Freedoms” was recently awarded the 2017 ICP Infinity Award for New Media and Online Platform. Thomas is also the recipient of the 2017 Soros Equality Fellowship. Current and upcoming exhibitions include Prospect 4: The Lotus in Spite of the Swamp in New Orleans and Freedom Isn’t Always Beautiful at Savannah College of Art and Design Museum. Thomas is a member of the Public Design Commission for the City of New York. He received a BFA in Photography and Africana studies from New York University and a MFA/MA in Photography and Visual Criticism from the California College of Arts. He has also received honorary doctorates from the Maryland Institute of Art and the Institute for Doctoral Studies in the Visual Arts. Thomas lives and works in New York City.

Image: Hank Willis Thomas, We the People, 2015, quilt made out of decommissioned prison uniforms, 73 1/4 x 88 1/4 in., 76 3/8 x 92 1/8 x 2 1/8 in. (framed). Courtesy of the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery, NY.