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Born Pensacola , Florida 1936. Lives New York City
| Solo Exhibitions |
| 2013 |
"Steps," Elizabeth Harris Gallery, New York, NY |
| 2012 |
Sturctural Abstraction, Sarah Moody Gallery of Art, The University of Alabama |
| 2011 |
Elizabeth Harris Gallery, New York, NY |
| 2010 |
"Thornton Willis: American Abstractions," Rider University Art Gallery, Lawrenceville, NJ, curated by Deborah Rosenthal |
| 2009 |
Elizabeth Harris Gallery, New York, NY |
| 2007 |
"Painting: 40 Years", Slideshow Gallery, Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY |
| 2006 |
Elizabeth Harris Gallery, New York , NY |
| 1993 |
Andre Zarre Gallery, New York , NY |
| 1990 |
Twining Gallery, New York , NY |
| 1988 |
Gallerie Nordenhake, Stockholm , Sweden
Pensacola Museum of Fine Art, Pensacola, FL |
| 1986 |
Oscarsson-Siegeltuch , New York , NY
Millerville University Gallery, Millerville, PA |
| 1985 |
Gloria Luria Gallery, Miami , FL
C.W. Woods Gallery, University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg , MS |
| 1984 |
Oscarsson Hood Gallery , New York , NY |
| 1983 |
Gallerie Nordenhake, Malmo , Sweden
Engstrom Gallery, Stockholm , Sweden |
| 1982 |
Nina Freudenheim Gallery, Buffalo , NY
Galerie Gonet, Lausanne , Switzerland
Eason Gallery, Santa Fe , NM
Phoenix Gallery, Pittsburgh , PA |
| 1981 |
Marianne Deson Gallery, Chicago , IL
Oscarsson Hood Gallery , New York , NY |
| 1980 |
Oscarsson Hood Gallery , New York , NY
Gallerie Nordenhake, Malmo , Sweden |
| 1971 |
New Orleans Museum of Art, New Orleans , LA |
| 1970 |
55 Mercer Street Gallery , New York , NY
Simonne Stern Gallery, New Orleans , LA
Paley and Lowe , New York , NY |
| 1968 |
Henri Gallery , Washington , D.C. |
| 1967 |
Henri Gallery , Washington , D.C. |
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| Two Persons Exhibitions |
| 2005 |
“Raising the Bar: James Little & Thornton Willis”, Sideshow Gallery, Brooklyn , NY |
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| Selected Group Exhibitions |
| 2012 |
"Today's Visual Language: Southern Abstraction, A Fresh Look," Mobile Museum of Art, Mobile AL
"4 Paintings," Maslow Gallery, Shields Center for the Visual Arts, Marywood University, Scranton, PA |
| 2011 |
"75th Anniversary American Abstract Artist Exhibition at OK Harris", OK Harris Gallery, New York, NY
"75th Anniversary: American Abstract Artists International," Galerie oqbo,
Berlin, Germany |
| 2009 |
"Color-Time-Space," Lohin Geduld Gallery, New York, NY and Janet Kurnatowski Gallery, Brooklyn, NY, curated by Joanne Freeman and Kim Uchiyama
"Personal Geometry," Lori Bookstein Fine Art, New York, NY |
| 2008 |
“Shape Shifters: New York Painters, The A.D. Gallery, UNC Pembroke, Pembroke , NC , Sideshow Gallery. New York , NY |
| 2006 |
Sideshow Gallery, Brooklyn , NY
“Oracle”, Holland Tunnel Gallery, Paros , Greece and Brooklyn , NY
“Neoplastic Redux”, Elizabeth Harris Gallery , New York , NY
Ober Gallery , Kent , CT
“New Criterion Benefit Auction”, Salander-O'Reilly Gallery, New York , NY |
| 2005 |
The Yellow Bird Gallery, Newburgh , NY
Holland Tunnel Gallery , NY |
| 2003 |
The Spike Gallery, Green Chimney's Auction & Benefit , New York , NY |
| 2002 |
“Recent Acquisitions”, The Sarah Moody Gallery of Art, U. of Alabama , Tuscaloosa , AL
“Paintings”, The Space, New York , NY |
| 2001 |
“New York Artists”, Emily Lowe Gallery, Hofstra Museum , Hofstra University, Hempstead , NY , curated by James Little
“Abstraction and Immanence”, Hunter College, New York, NY, curated by Vincent Longo
“911 Abstract Art”, L.S. Phillips Studio 18 Gallery, New York , NY |
| 2000 |
Musee Cantonal Des Beaux-Arts DeLausanne , Switzerland , curated By R. Zaugg
“American Abstract Artists, 1930-2000”, Hillwood Art Museum , curated by J. Price |
| 1999 |
“The Art of Absolute Desire”, Gershwin Hotel , New York , NY, curated by James Little
“The Power of Drawing”, Westbeth Gallery , New York , NY, curated by Beverly Brodsky |
| 1998 |
“Absolut Secret”, David McKee Gallery , New York , NY
“Abstract Index”, Condesco/Lawler Gallery, New York, NY, curated by Vincent Longo |
| 1997 |
“Abstract Tendencies”, Rider College Gallery, Lawrenceville , NJ , curated by D. Rosenthal, (catalog) |
| 1996 |
“New York – Abstract”, New York Arts Magazine space, New York, NY, curated by James Little |
| 1993 |
“Small Paintings: Big Issues”, Douglas Drake Gallery , New York , NY
“The Tradition”, Anita Shapolsky Gallery , New York , NY |
| 1991 |
“Abstract Paintings: the 90s”, Andre Emmerich Gallery, New York, NY, curated by Barbara Rose |
| 1988 |
American Academy & Institute of Arts & Letters, New York , NY
“Dorothy Diener, Peter Voulkos, Thornton Willis”, Twining Gallery, New York , NY |
| 1986 |
Cork Gallery, Lincoln Center , New York , NY
Oscarsson-Seigeltuch Gallery, Inaugural show, New York , NY |
| 1985 |
Rose Museum , Brandeis University , Waltham , MA
“Affair of the Heart”, Albright-Knox Art Gallery , Buffalo , NY
“Color Abstraction in the 80s”, Baruch College , New York , NY, curated by Katherine Crum
“Abstract/Issues”, Tibor de Nagy , New York , NY , curated by Steven Madoff
“Current Six: New Abstraction”, Milwaukee Museum of Art, Milwaukee , WI , curated by G. Nordland |
| 1984 |
“Ten Years of Contemporary Art”, G.E. Corporation, Fairfield , CT, circulated by MOMA
“An International Survey of Recent Painting and Sculpture”, The Museum of Modern Art , New York , NY , curated by Kynaston McShine, (catalog) |
| 1983 |
“ARS 83”, Museum of Fine Art , Helsinki , Finland
Foster Goldstrom Fine Arts, San Francisco , CA |
| 1982 |
Galerie Numaga, Neuchatel , Switzerland |
| 1981 |
Galerie Arneson, Copenhagen , Denmark
“New Art II: Surfaces/Textures”, The Museum of Modern Art, New York , NY
“Painting Up Front”, Herbert F. Johnson Museum , Cornell University , Ithica , NY , curated by Thomas Leavitt (catalog)
“New Directions: A Corporate Collection”, Sidney Janis Gallery , New York , (selected by Sam Hunter)
“ New York , Paper Works Show”, Nina Freudenheim Gallery, Buffalo, NY |
| 1980 |
“Seven Young Americans”, Sidney Janis Gallery , New York , NY
-“Color Painting”, Gallery Engstrom, Stockholm , Sweden |
| 1979 |
“American Painting: The Eighties”, Grey Art Gallery , New York , NY, curated by Barbara Rose |
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| Selected Bibliography |
| 2013 |
Halasz, Piri, "And a Pleasant Surprise: Thornton Willis", Report From the Front, March 26
Greenwald, Xico, "Pledge of Allegiance", The New York Sun, March 24
Panero, James, "Gallery Chronicle", The New Criterion, April |
| 2011 |
Mullarkey, Maureen, "Thornton Willis", CityArts, March 23 - April 3, Volume 3, Issue 6, p10
Esplund, Lance, "In The Grid," catalogue essay for exhibition at Elizabeth Harris Gallery
Panero, James, "Gallery Chronicle," The New Criterion, Vol. 29, No. 6, p57 |
| 2009 |
Wei, Lilly, "Exhibition Reviews," Art in America, Sept., p149
Esplund, Lance, "Art," The Wall Street Journal, April 11-12, pW12
Panero, James, "Pilgrim's Process," catalogue essay for exhibition at Elizabeth Harris Gallery |
| 2007 |
Panero, James, "Comeback Kid", Art and Antiques, December, pp110-114
Esplund, Lance, "A Show of Painterly Swagger", Gallery Going, The New York Sun, November, 8, p22
Panero, James, "Gallery Chronicle", The New Criterion, Volume 26, Number2, November, pp61-62
Perl, Jed, "Laissez-Faire Aesthetics", The New Republic,
Feb. 2, pp 21-27
Olson, Craig, "Thornton Willis Recent Paintings", The Brooklyn Rail,
February, p43 |
| 2006 |
Joseph, Channing, "Making a Quantum Comeback", The New York Sun, December, 19, p13
Goodrich, John, “Gallery Going, Thornton Willis: Recent Paintings”, The New York Sun, December 14, p 18
Walentini, Joseph, “New York Views”, Abstract Art on Line , Dec 1 |
| 2005 |
La Rocca, Ben, “ Thornton Willis and James Little”, The Brooklyn Rail , April
Lieb, Vered, “Thonton Willis and James Little: Raising the Bar”, N.Y. Arts Magazine, Vol. 10, No 3/4, p71, March/April
Kernan, Nathan, "Thornton Willis and James Little at Sideshow", Art in America, October, p 178
Lieb, Vered, “ Thornton Willis and James Little”, Abstract Art on Line ,April
Maine, Stephen, “Dateline Brooklyn , Artnet , April
Naves, Mario, “A Shared Aesthetic and Goal, Raising the Bar at the Sideshow”, New York Observer , April 18, p 8
Panero, James, “Gallery Chronicles”, The New Criterion , May, Vol 23, no 9, p50
Walentini, Joseph, “Reviews: Thornton Willis and James Little”, AbstractArtonLine, May |
| 2003 |
Perl, Jed, “On Art: Unity and Variety”, The New Republic , Vol. 228, No 3, Issue 4593, Jan. 27
Kaufman, Leslie, “The Lost Legacy of Stewart Hitch”, The New York Times , The City, Section 14, Feb.2 |
| 2001 |
Morgan, Robert C., “Painted in New York City : The Presence of the Past”, catalog essay published by Hofstra University for “Painted in New York City ”, Jan. |
| 1999 |
Lieb, Vered, “The Art of Absolute Desire”, N.Y. Arts Magazine , Vol. 4, No. 8, pp50-1 |
| 1997 |
Rosenthal, Deborah, catalog essay for “Abstract Tendencies”, Rider University Press |
| 1994 |
Scott, Sue, “Reviews: New York ”, ARTnews , Feb., p143
- Lloyd W., Ann, “Review of Exhibitions”, Art in America , May p112 |
| 1993 |
Perl, Jed, “Code Name Painting”, The New Criterion , Dec., Vol. 12, no 4 |
| 1986 |
Lieb, Vered, “Objective Spirit: Thornton Willis”, Arts Magazine , Nov. |
| 1985 |
Heartney, Eleanor, “ Thornton Willis as Oscarsson Hood”, ARTnews, Feb.
- Gaugh, Harry T., “Franz Kline: The Man and the Myth”, ARTnews, Dec. |
| 1984 |
Carrier, David, “Betwixt and Between Illusion and Literality: Thornton Willis' Recent Paintings”, p194, Nov.
Rosenthal, Deborah, “First Underground Show”, Art in America , Nov., pp157-8 |
| 1983 |
Madoff, Steven, “Looking for Thornton Willis: A Treatise”, Arts Magazine , March, cover and pp16-118 |
| 1981 |
Murray, Jesse, Flash Art , Jan.
Maschek, Joseph, “Abstract Identity: Thornton Willis”, Oct., pp126-131, reproductions pp. 126, 129, 130 |
| 1980 |
Ratcliff, Carter, “ 55 Mercer St. Show”, Art in America , March, p116
Frackman, Noel, “The Paintings of Thornton Willis”, Arts Magazine, Nov., pp58-60
Cornu, Daniel, “La Peinture Abstraite en Question”, Tribune De Geneve , Dec. 16, p27
Parks, Addison , Arts Magazine , Dec., p53 |
| 1979 |
Feldman, Anita, “Space and Subjectivity”, Artforum , Sept., pp49-53
Boyce, David, “Interview with Thornton Willis”, Arts Magazine , Nov., P116 |
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| Books |
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Clayton, Alec, As If Art Matters: Reviews and Commentary, Clayton Works,
Olympia, WA., copyright 2004, cover image, “Thornton Willis”, pp33-5
Carrier, David, The Aesthete in the City; The Philsophy and Practice of American Abstract Painting in the 1980's, The Pennsylvania State University Press, University Park Pennsylvania, 1994, Chapters 10 (p188) and 13 (p 225)
Belamy, Peter, The Artists Project: Portrait of the Real Art World: New York Artists 1981-1990, introduction by Neil Printz, IN Publishing, New York, NY, 1991
Masheck, Joseph, “Historical Present: Essays of the 1970s”, Contemporary American Art Critics, No. 3 , edited by Donald Kuspit, UMI Research Press, Michigan , 1984, Chapter 22, pp249-257, “Thornton Willis and Abstract Identity” |
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| Honors and Awards |
| 2004 |
Southern Mississippi College of Arts and Letters, Wall of Fame |
| 2001 |
The Pollock-Krasner Foundation, Painting Fellowship |
| 1991 |
Adolph and Esther Gottlieb Fellowship |
| 1984 |
National Endowment for the Arts, Printmaking Fellowship |
| 1980 |
National Endowment for the Arts, Painting Fellowship |
| 1979 |
John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, Painting Fellowship |
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| Selected Full Time Teaching and Guest Lectures |
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The Art Institute of Chicago
Carnegie-Melon University, Pittsburgh, PA
Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL
Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, LA
Louisiana State University in New Orleans, LA
New York University, New York, NY
Pratt Institute, New York, NY
Princeton University, Princeton, NJ
S.U.N.Y., Purchase, NY
University of Nebraska, Omaha, NE
University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, MS
Wagner College, Staten Island, NY |
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| Education |
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1966 University of Alabama, MFA
1962 University of Southern Mississippi, BS |
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| Selected Public Collections |
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Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY
The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum New York, NY
The Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY
The Phillips Collection, Washington, D.C
Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art, Ridgefield, CT
Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, NY
Denver Museum of Fine Arts, Denver, CO
Weatherspoon Art Gallery, University of North Carolina, Greensboro, NC
Museum of Art, Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh , PA
Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY
New Orleans Museum of Art, New Orleans, Louisiana
Memorial Art Gallery, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY
Rose Art Museum, Brandeis University
The Sarah Moody Gallery of Art, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL
The Arkansas Art Center, Little Rock, AR
Museum of Broadcasting, NYC
Musee A La Chaux-de-fonds, Switzerland
Malmo Museum of Fine Art, Kunsthalle, Malmo, Sweden
The Power Institute of Fine Arts, Sidney , Australia
The Herb and Dorothy Vogel Collection, New York, NY
Chase Manhattan Collection, New York City
Southeast Banking Corporation, Miami , FL and Los Angeles, CA
Hospital Corporation of North America, Nashville, TE
Inter-Metro Industries Corporation, Princeton, NJ
Frito-Lay Corporation, Dallas
The Prudential Insurance Company of America |
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