Shawn Thornton

Shawn Thornton's work is characterized by complex combinations of symbols derived from a variety of cultural and spiritual traditions. During art school, Thornton began to experience psychedelic visions (the result of a tumor on his pineal gland). Imagery from those visions appears in his paintings. Thornton labors over each piece for months or years at a time, slowly building up intricate layers of color.


Shawn Thornton lives and works in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and East Madison, Maine. He earned his BFA from Virginia Commonwealth University in 2000, and attended the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture in 2002. Thornton was the recipient of a Pollock-Krasner Foundation grant, and has completed residencies at the Vermont Studio Center and the Ox-Bow School of Art. His work has been included in exhibitions at Fleisher/Ollman Gallery, Stephen Romano Gallery, the Philadelphia Institute for Advanced Study, and the CUE Art Foundation, among others.


Courtesy of CUE Art Foundation