Lava Thomas

Lava Thomas (born 1958) is an American artist. Thomas was born and raised in Los Angeles.[2]

Lava Thomas
Born1958 (age 64–65)[1]
Los Angeles, CA

Career

Thomas' art practice explores female subjectivity, social justice and changing historical discourses.[3]

In 2015 she was selected by the City of San Francisco to create a monument to the writer Maya Angelou.[4] However, the city rescinded its initial approval for the monument, citing objections to Thomas' proposed work by city supervisor Catherine Stefani, who had sponsored the legislation for the artwork.[5][6] The city started its search for an artist anew, but in 2019 it reversed course and affirmed the original selection of Thomas. The city issued a public apology that stated "Due to our failures, we have caused significant harm to an incredibly talented Black woman artist, and we have caused deep pain to members of the Black artist community."[7][8]

In 2015 she had a solo exhibition at the Museum of the African Diaspora.[9][10] In 2018 she exhibited Mugshot Portraits: Women of the Montgomery Bus Boycott, which presented portraits of the women involved in the 1955-1956 Montgomery bus boycott.[3]

Collections

Her work is included in the collections of the Smithsonian American Art Museum,[1] the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art[11] and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts.[12]

References
  1. "Lava Thomas | Smithsonian American Art Museum". americanart.si.edu.
  2. Winn, Steven (29 November 2014). "Lava Thomas' art rooted in biography". SFGATE.
  3. Seikaly, Roula. "At Rena Bransten Gallery, Lava Thomas' 'Mugshots' Are Drawn Out of History". KQED.
  4. Knight, Heather (19 October 2019). "Artist's vision for Maya Angelou statue crushed by City Hall's dysfunction". San Francisco Chronicle.
  5. "SFAC Awards the Maya Angelou Monument to Lava Thomas, Finally". KQED.
  6. McCalman, George (7 February 2021). "Lava Thomas speaks out: A candid interview with the artist on saga of S.F.'s Maya Angelou monument". San Francisco Chronicle.
  7. Small, Zachary (6 August 2020). "San Francisco Apologizes to Artist Over Maya Angelou Monument". The New York Times.
  8. Hotchkiss, Sarah; Veltman, Chloe. "SFAC Apologizes to Lava Thomas for Mishandling Maya Angelou Monument". KQED.
  9. "Lava Thomas: Beyond". MoAD Museum of African Diaspora.
  10. October 4, Charles Desmarais. "When homemakers became heroes: Lava Thomas drawings at Rena Bransten". Datebook | San Francisco Arts & Entertainment Guide.
  11. "Thomas, Lava · SFMOMA". SFMOMA.
  12. "Lava Thomas, "Xavier" (2006)". PAFA - Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. 5 February 2019.
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