“Creating art has always been my…tether to my true self.”
On February 1st, we kicked off our Tiny Gallery show with K. Wayne Thornley. In five days, the show, Figure Studies, sold 9 out of 12 pieces. To learn more about Thornley and the inspiration behind this haunting and stunning collection, keep reading.
Thornley grew up in the Lowcountry of South Carolina and notes that being an artistic boy in the South was not exactly easy. His talents were acknowledged and appreciated—Thornley recalls family saying, “he can draw real good”—but a career in art was not a viable option.
“It took a long time for me to realize my parents simply did not have the tools to understand me or my fascination with making things,” Wayne recollects, “Luckily, I had some friends who supported me, and we all hung together until going to college.”
“he can draw real good”
When it comes to college, his parents were insistent on Thornley getting a degree. While he picked out a handful of colleges he was passionate about, like Parsons and RISD, his parents were not on the same page. They were concerned “art schools” did not promise a real job with security.
“It took a long time for me to realize my parents simply did not have the tools to understand me or my fascination with making things,”
“I basically said, before the phrase was popular, ‘Uh, hello! Do you know me?’” Thornley jokes, “They had something more practical in mind – like a business degree. Fast forward to them unloading me at UofSC in Columbia, giving me a kiss, wishing me luck, reminding me to make the Dean’s list and driving away.”
Thornley recalls that he spent the beginning of his time at school trying to find a major that could balance his parents’ wishes and his own desires, which he found in the school of journalism. Graphic design was an integral part of advertising, and upon following that path, Thornley could take several art classes.
“I graduated with a degree in Advertising and Public Relations and what would equate to a minor in art studio,” he shares, “My first job was as a graphic designer, then art director. Because I could write, I became a creative director, then senior producer, communications director, VP of marketing, and so on.”
Throughout all these ventures with a variety of positions, Thornley has kept a studio at home for creative work. Even though he has never made a living from art, he has made a life with it: “Creating art has always been my escape, my therapy, the tether to my true self,” he intimates.
When it comes to what kind of art Thornley creates, he does not like to be limited. In the past four years, he has focused on painting and wire sculpture. However, throughout his creative journey, he has experimented with printmaking, fiber sculpture, painting, drawing, and assemblage.
“Because I have never made my living from art, I have always felt free to explore and experiment with many mediums, and I love object-making as much as image-making,” he remarks, “I have been fortunate enough to find a few gallerists, jurors and patrons who have found merit in my work over the years.”
The largest influence on Thornley’s work, though, was being a part of his father’s Alzheimer’s experience. Thornley had often worked with images and objects that, in his eyes, mirrored the past, like landscapes of the Lowcountry he was raised in. However, watching his father’s decline was an experience that altered his art as well as his life.
“Watching my dad slowly fade away, forgetting words, names, and faces changed my perspective on who we are as individuals in this life. Without memories, everything loses its significance. As the mind becomes a blank slate, the body becomes a shell,” he imparts, “That kind of thing changes you. All my work deals with that experience on some level whether in figures that seem to be searching or wire structures that represent cages or containers of fragile elements.”
And these themes move through the lines that trace each figure in Thornley’s Tiny Gallery show. He wanted to “continue [his] investigation of the human form in space, some strong, some weak, some uncertain” and to create works that may serve as inspiration for larger pieces in his upcoming show at Stormwater Studios.
If you visit Figure Studies, you will see 12 individuals, sketched in graphite and painted with acrylic. Some seem to lean forward from their boards as if to await conversation or whisper almost tangibly. Some look away, just off-stage, or cover their heads, both at something unknown. Some are tethered, to wings and to wrappings. Though all appear as people, they all seem to ask: “What is it that makes us human?”
Those in the Columbia area are likely not new to the staying power of Thornley’s work. He has been on this journey of storytelling for some time now. Full of memories, he recalls that his favorite moment as an artist happened around two years ago, when he spent a week at Arrowmont School in Tennessee.
“I worked in the fiber studio combining my sculptural forms with abaca fibers and handmade paper,” he reflects, “It was a freeing experience for me, to finally be an artist at ‘art school’ with other artists and no other purpose or agenda than to create.”
On the note of recent events having a profound effect, 2020 and 2021 have been unlike any other years, for every artist, and Thornley shares that they have shaped his work, building on and contributing layers to the themes he already explored.
“The things that have happened in our country, mostly beginning with the election of 2016, have only added to my perceptions of what is real, what is important, and what the value of our lives, together, really add up to,” he asserts, “In my opinion, any artist whose work has not been affected in some way by the world events of the last four years might need to reconsider what they are doing.”
As stated above, Thornley’s next exhibition will be in May at Stormwater Studios here in Columbia. He will be showing new figurative paintings alongside the sculptural work of clay artist Lucy Bailey.
“While our interpretations of the figure are quite different, I think the juxtaposition of the two will make for an interesting show,” Thornley states, “We are not sure about what form the opening of this show will take. We may do a virtual opening. As with everything else in these uncertain times, you must move forward and make your choices as they arise.”
As for after the show? “I plan to continue painting small works and put more time into exploring my wire structures,” Thornley ruminates, “Maybe I will weave myself a cocoon and reemerge when COVID-19 is not the major focus of each day.”
You can see Thornley’s show 24/7 via the Jasper website until the final day of February. If you want to be one of the lucky people to snag one of the last 3 pieces in the show, you can also do so at any time: https://the-jasper-project.square.site/tiny-gallery
—Christina Xan