Jesse Thomas has lived and exhibited around the world and now teaches painting at the University of Alberta. Nevertheless, he still considers his native New Orleans home. He’s explored numerous topics in his paintings since graduating with a BFA from the Art Institute of Chicago in 1993 and an MFA from Washington University in Saint Louis in 2003, not least the intersection of the arts and power. In 2017, he completed a series of lithographs that sought to digest the inner turmoil of seeing landmarks and artifacts of his home removed and the outer turmoil of his nation grappling with the ongoing realities of racism. These were the four statues of Confederate Army generals that led forces to protect the Southern states’ right to own human beings.
