Thomas Whitworth is a highly accomplished artist and educator whose career spans five decades of exploring the intersections of photographic reality and theatrical performance. With a rigorous academic foundation from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Whitworth’s practice is rooted in the conceptual layers of the "real" and the "unreal." His work investigates the territory of illusion that photography inherently manifests, often utilizing the medium to challenge the viewer’s perception of truth and artifice. A former Professor of Fine Arts, his deep commitment to the formal elements of composition and lighting allows him to transform small-scale simulations into profound narrative inquiries.

In his series Constructed Scenarios, Whitworth presents meticulously built still lifes that depict apparent problems or dilemmas. Using HO scale model figures, vehicles, and structures set against large-scale photographic backdrops, he constructs cinematic tableaus that blend three-dimensional objects with two-dimensional landscapes. These scenes are composed and lit entirely in-camera, eschewing digital collage in favor of traditional set-building techniques. Wry and ironic, these scenarios are designed to be both amusing and troubling; they deliberately reveal their manufactured falsehoods, resisting convincing illusion to instead highlight the tension between real-world mimicry and theatrical play.

Whitworth’s distinguished career includes a significant presence in major institutional collections, such as the New Orleans Museum of Art, the Museum of Contemporary Photography in Chicago, and the Rhode Island School of Design Museum. He has been the recipient of two Individual Artist Fellowships from the Louisiana Division of the Arts and has received accolades from the Garrison Art Center and the Praxis Photographic Arts Center. Having taught at the University of New Orleans and the Herron School of Art, Whitworth now continues his prolific practice in central Florida, sustaining a long-term dialogue on the nature of narrative and the photographic image.

Education & Training

1980

MFA, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, USA

1978

MA, California State University, USA

1975

BFA, Florida State University, USA

1980-2006

Professor of Fine Arts, University of New Orleans / Herron School of Art, USA

Exhibition & Projects (Selection)

2025

Praxis Photographic Arts Center, Minneapolis, USA

2024

Garrison Art Center, NY, USA

2023

PhotoPlace Gallery, VT, USA

2018

New Orleans Museum of Art (Sammlung), Louisiana, USA

2015

Museum of Contemporary Photography (Sammlung), Chicago, USA

2010

Rhode Island School of Design Museum (Sammlung), USA

2005

Individual Artist Fellowship, Louisiana Division of the Arts, USA