Hank Willis Thomas: All Things Being Equal…

Combining familiar images from sports and advertising with histories of art and politics, conceptual artist Hank Willis Thomas examines popular culture, and how art can raise awareness in the ongoing struggle for social justice and civil rights. Featuring 90+ artworks including photographs, sculptures, mixed media, and his well-known Branded series, Hank Willis Thomas: All Things Being Equal… is the first comprehensive survey of this acclaimed and award-winning artist’s career.

Thomas’s work is in the collections of Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York, the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, and the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, among others. He has been an instructor in the MFA program at Yale University and the Maryland Institute College of Art and is a 2018 Guggenheim Fellowship award winner.

“The most revolutionary thing a person can do is be open to change.” – Hank Willis Thomas

“Hank Willis Thomas is making some of the most urgent, timely art in the US.” – The Art Newspaper

“[Thomas has] expanded into other mediums while honing his near superhero-strength skills as a master aesthete and storyteller.” – Observer

Explore the exhibition

Phillips, Esther Silver-Parker, Deborah Wright, Arkansas Humanities Council, Walmart AAOC, and Kate & Greg Schaffer

This project is supported in part by a grant from the Arkansas Humanities Council and the National Endowment for the Humanities.

This exhibition is organized by the Portland Art Museum, Oregon.

Hank Willis Thomas, Crossroads, 2012, Chromogenic print, plexiglas, and Lumisty film. Private Collection. Image courtesy of the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York. © Hank Willis Thomas

Hank Willis Thomas, Guernica, 2016, Mixed media including sport jerseys. Private Collection. © Hank Willis Thomas. Image courtesy of the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York.

Hank Willis Thomas, I Am. Amen., 2009, Liquitex on canvas. Installation view. Collection of Ulrich Museum of Art, Wichita State University. © Hank Willis Thomas. Image courtesy of the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York.

Hank Willis Thomas, Raise Up, 2014, Bronze. Private Collection. © Hank Willis Thomas. Image courtesy of the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York.

Hank Willis Thomas, The Cotton Bowl, from the series Strange Fruit, 2011, Digital c-print. Detroit Institute of Arts, Museum Purchase, W. Hawkins Ferry Fund. © Hank Willis Thomas. Image courtesy of the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York.

Hank Willis Thomas, The Cotton Bowl, from the series Strange Fruit, 2011, Digital c-print. Detroit Institute of Arts, Museum Purchase, W. Hawkins Ferry Fund. © Hank Willis Thomas. Image courtesy of the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York.

Hank Willis Thomas, Strike, 2018, Stainless steel with mirrored finish. Private Collection. © Hank Willis Thomas. Image courtesy of the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York.

Hank Willis Thomas, Raise Up, 2014, Bronze. Private Collection. © Hank Willis Thomas. Image courtesy of the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York.

Hank Willis Thomas, Promise, 2016, Fiberglass and chameleon auto paint. Private Collection. © Hank Willis Thomas. Image courtesy of the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York.

Hank Willis Thomas, I Am. Amen., 2009, Liquitex on canvas. Installation view. Collection of Ulrich Museum of Art, Wichita State University. © Hank Willis Thomas. Image courtesy of the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York.

Hank Willis Thomas, Guernica, 2016, Mixed media including sport jerseys. Private Collection. © Hank Willis Thomas. Image courtesy of the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York.

Hank Willis Thomas, Branded Head, from the series B®anded, 2003, Chromogenic print. Private Collection. © Hank Willis Thomas. Image courtesy of the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York.

Hank Willis Thomas, Absolut No Return, 2008, Lambda c-print on metallic paper. © Hank Willis Thomas. Image courtesy of the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York.