Thomas J Price
Photo: Ollie Adegboye
Thomas J Price
England born 1981
Ground Level
NGV International
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PROJECT
Referencing Western sculptural traditions, Thomas J Price’s works play with methods of presentation, material and scale, to highlight the inadequate and prejudiced representations of Black people today and throughout history.
These large-scale sculptures, stand directly on the ground, eschewing the elevated position and implicit ‘elevation’ of a statue on a plinth in public space. Together they confront the lack of people of colour represented in public statuary. Intentionally ambiguous, Price’s figures do not depict a certain individual, but are instead drawn from an amalgamation of found sources, including observed individuals and stereotypes represented in the media. In this way, Price’s works serve more accurately as psychological portraits of the viewer, prompting them to consider their own socially learnt attitudes and assumptions.
ABOUT
Thomas J Price is one of the most important British contemporary artists of his generation. His multidisciplinary practice confronts preconceived attitudes towards representation and identity, foregrounding the intrinsic value of the individual and subverting structures of hierarchy. Price studied at Chelsea College of Art and completed his MA at the Royal College of Art, London. In 2022, London’s Hackney Council unveiled Price’s Warm Shores, the first permanent public sculptures to celebrate the contribution of the Windrush generation and their descendants in the UK. Price’s solo presentation, Witness, at the Studio Museum in Harlem, was displayed in Marcus Garvey Park from 2021 to 2022. In 2023 Price unveils new projects with the Victoria and Albert Museum, London; the National Portrait Gallery, London; and Beyond Measure at Hauser & Wirth, Los Angeles.
Purchased with funds donated by Neville and Diana Bertalli and Loti & Victor Smorgon Fund, 2023
Felton Bequest, 2022