Pat Coomey Thornton
"Instances and unexpected encounters are a constant source of wonder and inspiration for my work. The complex circumstances of a life are tied to rhythms, patterns, dreams, wishes, and physical reality. We each exist on many levels simultaneously, with complex relationships and interactions being a part of what seems to be simple and basic.
I prefer to evoke ideas that are metaphoric and poetic, rather than to describe. I think the many components of an experience - and individual’s voice, a string of notes, a sudden motion, transitions and rhythms – are all elements capable of revealing insights about our worlds. I try to capture a sense of fleeting time, a glimpse of parts that suggest the whole, and the energy of a continuum. I hope to create a work where color, texture, and mark offer the observer an absorbing entrance to their own experiences and thoughts.
I seize upon nuances from my surroundings and life as points of departure. I simplify shapes to suggest their recognizable relatives, and I hope to generate more than one interpretation.
Line is important in my work and I envision it as a generative, time-based element. I attempt to weave together a surface of elements to create energy, tempo, and spatial relationships. Color is also a spatial, emotional and map-like factor.
I try to employ visual elements that will enable subtle dynamic changes of the visual hierarchy over time in order to create a continued dialogue."
Dedee Shattuck Gallery Exhibits:
Paint, Pattern, Print, Texture, 2014
John Havens Thornton and Pat Coomey Thornton, 2011
Additional works available, to inquire about works, please email dedeeshattuckgallery@gmail.com or call 508-636-4177.
Résumé
EDUCATION
M.F.A. Pius XII Institute, Florence Italy – Major in Painting - Minor Art History
(Studied with Renzo Chiarelli, Director, San Marco Museum, Museum of the Academy of Fine Arts, Library of the Uffizi Gallery; Luciano Berti, Director, Bargello Museum; Mario Bucci, Art Historian & Author; Mario Bizzarri, Director, Archaeological Museum, Florence, Italy)
B.F.A. Massachusetts College of Art, Boston, MA - Painting
GRANTS-AWARDS
Massachusetts Artists Grant
Massachusetts Artist Foundation: Drawing Finalist
Painting Finalist
Ford Foundation Travel Grant
EMPLOYMENT
Rhode Island School of Design (RISD)
Special Assistant to the President
Institutional Engagement – Parents Program
Continuing Education - Associate Director
Instructor Continuing Education - Adult and PreCollege
School of the Worcester Art Museum / Affiliated with Clark University
Instructor – Drawing and Painting - College level
Worcester Art Museum
Director Youth Art Programs/Continuing Education
Instructor Adult Education
EXHIBITIONS
Dedee Shattuck Gallery, Westport, MA • 2011
Judith Klein Gallery, New Bedford, MA • 2011
Clad-In, Wayland Square, Providence, RI • 2010
Rhode Island School of Design –
RISD Staff and Summer Show, Woods Gerry, Providence, RI • 2000 – 2007
Women in the Arts, Roger’s Gallery, Mattapoisett, MA • 2005
RISD Faculty Show, RISD Museum 2004
Fuller Art Museum, “The Ninth Biennial”, Brockton, MA 1999
Boston Center for the Arts, “The Drawing Show”, Boston, MA 1998
New Bedford Art Museum, New Bedford, MA “Generations” 1997
Dartmouth Gallery, Dartmouth, MA 1994
Levinson-Kane Gallery, Boston, MA 1990
Rose Art Museum, Brandeis University, Waltham, MA “Brandeis Collects” 1989
“Six Painters from Around Town” 1983 “Art of the State” 1982
Stavaridis Gallery: Boston, MA 1984
Cutler Stavaridis Gallery, Boston, MA 1980
Faculty Shows, Worcester Art Museum and Clark University
COLLECTIONS
Meditech, Fall River, MA
Rose Art Museum, Brandeis University, Waltham, MA
Paine Webber, N.Y., N.Y.
Private Collections
Dedeeshattuckgallery@gmail.com | 508. 636. 4177 | 1 Partners' Lane, Westport, MA 02790 | W - Sat, 10 - 5, Sun 12 - 5