Artist of the day, January 18, 2020: Terry Thompson, an American painter and photographer (#894)

Terry Thompson (1963) is an American painter and photographer. In his oil paintings of neon signage, he renders wires, rivets, and another minutia because of his appreciation for how these hand-made signs are built. This may be a result of the many years he spent as an equipment engineer in Silicon Valley prior to earning his MFA at San Jose State University.

Terry is primarily drawn to older, unique signs that have somehow avoided the wrecking ball. Thompson says I see these signs as historically and emotionally charged metaphors for beating the odds. When I render rust, faded paint or broken neon, I'm imbuing my paintings with a sense of humanity and history. Text is prominent in most of Thompson's paintings and he often amplifies its ambiguity by aggressively cropping. This results in disjointed text and words that confront the viewer, begging to be read or deciphered.

Thompson finds his subjects while exploring the forgotten back streets of cities. This discovery process, coupled with being in the presence of these signs, is important for his method which coalesces into paintings that are geometrically, contextually, and formally interesting; paintings which reveal the hidden beauty in the mundane and banal.

Thompson's work can be found in private collections throughout the world and in the permanent collections of The San Jose Museum of Art, The Nevada Museum of Art, The California Museum of Sacramento, The de Saisset Museum of Art of Santa Clara University, and The Fort Wayne Museum of Art.

© 2020. All content on this blog is protected by international copyright laws All images are copyrighted © by Terry Thompson. Apart from fair dealing for the purpose of private study, research, criticism or review as permitted under the Copyright Act, the use of any image from this site is prohibited unless prior written permission is obtained. All images used for illustrative purposes only

Mr. Terry Thompson

2005, Doggie Diner

2007, Savoy

2009, Pig Dynamism

2009, Sky ranch

2010 Canyon City Liquor

2010, tic tac donettes

2011, Charlie Bell

2011, Denny's

2011, Hot pink popcorn

2011, The Lark

2011, The Place

2011, TV-Dinner

2013 Swanson Crush on Rooti

2013, Jims

2013, Paint Store

2013, Pride cleaners

2013, Reno City Center

2014 Spokane Sash and Glass

2014, 777 Motel

2014, Astro Motel

2014, Cretty Hill

2014, El ray

2015, Phoenix  $5.99

2015, Pinkies

2016, Baskin

2016, Garden of Eden

2016, Johnnies Room

2016, Tropicana motor hotel

2017, Artist materials

2017, Frolic room