Thomas Lucas

Thomas Lucas studied at the Tyler School of Art in 1989 and graduated with his B.F.A. in Philadelphia. He attended The Art Institute of Chicago where he attained his M.F.A. and participated in many artist projects. He has been a professor since 1999 and currently resides in Chicago, Illinois.

As a child, Thomas Lucas fixated with all things broken and all things that needed to be repaired. Thomas grew up around “motor-heads” and was always inspired to take things apart and put them back together just to feed his curiosity of learning how they work.

In his artist statement, Lucas explains how his ideas reflect experiences with mechanical objects. These components have become the core subject matter within his work. “I like to create images using an indirect art-making process like printmaking because the process of analyzing my ideas reveals the fundamental elements within my compositions. I chose to work with techniques such as printmaking because of the machine-oriented operation in the process of developing a print”, Thomas explains. It’s like a spark sets off in his mind, a spark that just like the wires hooked to a spark plug with an adapter, they remind him of his curiosity for all things and the method of working within them.

 

Thomas Lucas has an extensive resume of exhibitions, publications and commissions, residencies, grants and awards such as Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs, C. A. A. P. Grant Award both in 2002 and 2003.