BRUCE THORN


 

ABOUT

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Bruce Thorn was born in Chicago in 1952. He knew that he would be an artist from the first time he picked up a crayon. The pictures kept coming, jumping out of his imagination onto paper. Drawing and painting became a necessary constant companion and anchor.

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Thorn went on to earn a BFA. in Painting and Drawing from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 1975 and received a M.F.A. from the University of Illinois at Chicago in 1987. His MFA. thesis was titled “Ethereal Vibrations in the Visual Arts.”

He works primarily with oil paint, which accommodates the full range of techniques and color luminescence that are so important to him. Thorn has also produced many hand made prints and gouache paintings on paper.

 

1982, while still only 29 years old, Thorn’s artwork was taken on by the prestigious Zaks Gallery in Chicago. He has maintained a vibrant art practice throughout his entire life. A recipient of a Pollock-Krasner award, his work is in the permanent collections of the Art Institute of Chicago, the Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art, Chicago, the John Michael Kohler Arts Center Art Preserve, Roger Brown Study Collection in Sheboygan Wisconsin and the Saint Olaf College in Northfield Minnesota.

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Bruce Thorn, August 3, 2025

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​Please click here to listen Bruce's original music on Soundcloud.