About the artist

Tori Thomas (b. 1994) is an emerging artist originally from Bellwood, Pennsylvania, living and working in Philadelphia. Tori received a BFA in Painting and Drawing with a minor in Art History from Temple University (2021) following a BA in Psychology from Bloomsburg University (2017). Their work is primarily figurative, drawing from personal experience and themes of human learning, their work reflects on the ways development shapes identity.

Influenced by the works of modern and contemporary artists such as Dana Schutz, Cindy Sherman, and Alice Neel; Tori’s work explores themes of pop culture and social media, examining their impact on identity and self-perception. Tori’s compositions establish an initial sense of playfulness and familiarity through use of light and shadow with vibrant, saturated hues. Through distortion and exaggeration, more unsettling aspects of personal and collective experience are conveyed. Tori’s work challenges conventional notions of selfhood, inviting the viewer to examine ways in which external influences shape human perception, development, and emotional growth.