Christopher Thornock’s artistic process begins as a visual and visceral response to his subject matter, often pinned to color or shape. As the paintings evolve, objects are added, subtracted, modified or repeated. His paintings develop with formal concerns in the forefront. The variation of paint, mark, space, line, and composition play along the spectrum of a realist expectation. Inferences are drawn with objects taking on symbolic interpretation. Through this process meaning is revealed.
Anything becomes interesting if you look at it long enough. - Flaubert
EDUCATION
MFA, Studio Art, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 2007
BFA High Honors, Fine Art/Minor Illustration, Art Center of Design, Pasadena, CA 1996
AWARDS
Selected 100 Best 2018 Fine Art, Creative Quarterly, 2018, Julie Tremblay, Associate Partners et Sons, Veronica Grech and Trevor McCandliss jurors
Winner, Fine Art Category for two works, Creative Quarterly 53, The Journal of Art and Design, 2018
Honorable Mention, 2017 Utah Statewide Competition, Bountiful/Davis Art Center, Bountiful, UT 2017
Finalist, 2013/2014 Art Renewal Center Salon, 2014
Runner Up, Fine Art Professional Category, Creative Quarterly 35, 2014
Runner Up, Fine Art Professional Category, Creative Quarterly 33, 2013
Honorable Mention, 2009 Utah Statewide Competition, Bountiful/Davis Art Center, Bountiful, UT 2009
Jurors Choice, Utah '08: "Painting & Sculpture ", Utah Arts Council Exhibition, Salt Lake City, UT 2008
Merit Award 79th Spring Salon, Springville, UT 2003
Merit Award 77th Spring Salon, Springville, UT 2001
2nd Place Award Figurative, Realism Today, San Francisco, CA 2000
EXHIBITIONS
95th Utah Spring Salon, Springville Museum of Art, Springville, UT 2019
Creative Quarterly 53, The Journal of Art and Design, 2018
94th Utah Spring Salon, Springville Museum of Art, Springville, UT 2018, Beth Krensky and Elliott Wise jurors
Art Palm Springs, Palm Springs, CA, February 2018
Holiday Show, "A" Gallery, Salt Lake City, UT, December 2017
One Man Show, "A" Gallery, Salt Lake City, UT, October 2017
Faculty Show, Utah Valley University, Woodbury Museum, Orem, UT 2017
2017 Utah Statewide Competition, Bountiful/Davis Art Center, Bountiful, UT 2017,
Peter Everett juror
Every Polished Grace: Alumni from the Department of Visual Arts, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 2015
Art Renewal Center Salon, 2014
Creative Quarterly 35, The Journal of Art and Design, 2014
Creative Quarterly 33, The Journal of Art and Design, 2013
Foundations - 1997 to 2012, Bountiful/Davis Art Center, Bountiful, UT 2012
Faculty Show, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 2012
Once Man Show, Watts Fine Art, Zionsville, IN, 2011
One Man Show, “A” Gallery, Salt Lake City, UT, February 2011
Nature / Nurture: Narratives of the Family, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 2010
2009 Utah Statewide Competition, Bountiful/Davis Art Center, Bountiful, UT2009
One Grand Exhibition, “A” Gallery, Salt Lake City, UT 2009
'Face to Face', Bountiful/Davis Art Center, Bountiful, UT 2009
9 Muses plus 5 Artists, Bountiful/Davis Art Center, Bountiful, UT 2009
Utah '08: "Painting & Sculpture ", Utah Arts Council Exhibition, Salt Lake City, UT 2008,
Barbara Robinson and John D. Spiak, jurors
One Man Show, “A” Gallery, Salt Lake City, UT, October 2008
“unCommon Ground”, Terra Nova Gallery, Provo, UT 2007
Utah Juried Show, Central Utah Art Center, Ephraim, UT 2008, Micol Hebron, juror
One Through Ten, Gallery One Ten, Provo, UT 2007
Holiday Group Show, “A” Gallery, Salt Lake City, UT 2007
Utah Juried Show, Central Utah Art Center, Ephraim, UT 2007, Tanja Grunert juror
Semblance, MFA Exhibit, Gallery 303, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT2007
Landscape, “A” Gallery, Salt Lake City, UT 2005
Holiday Group Show, “A” Gallery, Salt Lake City, UT 2004
79th Utah Spring Salon, Springville Museum of Art, Springville, UT 2003
Comfort and Cheer, “A” Gallery, Salt Lake City, UT 2002
The Figure, “A” Gallery, Salt Lake City, UT 2002
Beyond the Millennium, Evansville Museum of Art, Evansville, IN 2001
77th Utah Spring Salon, Springville Museum of Art, Springville, UT 2001
76th Utah Spring Salon, Springville Museum of Art, Springville, UT 2000
Realism Today, John Pence Gallery, San Francisco, UT 2000
73rd Utah Spring Salon, Springville Museum of Art, Springville, UT 1997
PUBLICATIONS
Booooooom.com, 'Not So Still' by Artist Chris Thornock, Editors' Pick, May 2018
American Art Collector, "Timeless Treasures, Still Life Painting Today", 2010
Southwest Art Magazine “Best of the West” 2008
Southwest Art Magazine “Chasing Normal” 2003
Southwest Art Magazine “Artists to Watch” 2003
American Artist Magazine “Realism Today” 2000
CURRENT REPRESENTATION
“A” Gallery, Salt Lake City, UT
PAST REPRESENTATION
Howard Mandville Gallery, Kirkland, WA
Watts Fine Art, Zionsville, IN
Munson Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS
Associate Professor, Utah Valley University, 2017 - Present
Adjunct Faculty, Utah Valley University, 2015
Visiting Assistant Professor, Brigham Young University, 2012 - 2014
Adjunct Faculty, Brigham Young University, 2003 – 2017
Visiting Assistant Professor, Brigham Young University, 2008
Art Instructor, Bountiful/Davis Art Center, 2009