Terry Thompson Art
American, b. 1963
For nearly twenty years, Thompson has focused primarily on painting old neon signs that have somehow avoided the wrecking ball - the signs that have lived and beat the odds. These sculptural signs exist as historically and emotionally charged metaphors for the unrelenting passage of time. In his paintings, Thompson seeks to to reveal the hidden beauty of these banal, rusty relics, by rendering them in paint.
Thompson finds his subjects while exploring the forgotten back streets of cities across the United States. This act of discovery coupled with being in the physical presence of these signs, is crucial to his process. Thompson is searching for the diamonds in the discarded materials of our heavily commercial culture - the hidden beauty in the mundane and often-overlooked.
Thompson is fascinated by packaging typography and graphics and has done a series of vintage food product paintings depicting TV dinners, soda and soup cans, cereal boxes, and candy wrappers. The oversized and playful paintings of these products take the mundane and re-packages it for our contemporary eyes - objects that were used and thrown away take on a new power to evoke emotion and memory.
Thompson delves deep into the brilliant design aesthetic of the objects. From a time before the current mass media advertising bombardment of the devices we all carry in our pockets, these iconic signs and packages were an essential forms of advertising - if the sign caught your eye, you’d remember it. Instead of repetition as is the case now, designers had perhaps only one shot to make that statement.
Text is a common thread uniting both the sign and packaging paintings as is Thompson’s interest in capturing what is often considered purely functional and utilitarian by one era yet comes to mean more in the ensuing years. These signs or product packages represent so much more with the passage of time - our youth and the ever present nostalgia for the perceived “simpler times” of the past.
Terry Thompson was born in 1963 in Mountain View, CA. His initial studies were in industrial technology and he worked as an equipment engineer for various tech companies in Silicon Valley. While the work was interesting to Thompson, he could not get away from painting and went on to receive his BA and MFA from San Jose State University (CA). Thompson has exhibited throughout the West Coast and his work can be found in private collections throughout the world and in the permanent collections of The San Jose Museum of Art, The Nevada Museum of Art, The California Museum -Sacramento, The de Saisset Museum of Art - Santa Clara University, and The Fort Wayne Museum of Art. Terry Thompson lives and works in San Francisco.to
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TV Dinner, Fried Chicken
By Terry Thompson
Located in Fairfield, CT
Represented by George Billis Gallery, Los Angeles -- Artist Statement
Nothing But Neon, 2021
I see beauty in old neon signs.
I have always been fascinated by the glow inside the h...
Category
2010s Photorealist Terry Thompson Art
Materials
Oil, Panel
Cap'n Crunch Pop
By Terry Thompson
Located in Burlingame, CA
'Cap'n Crunch Pop', oil on canvas, 40 x 60 inches, proudly presented by Andra Norris Gallery in California. Terry Thompson looks for beauty in the often overlooked, painting in a pho...
Category
2010s Realist Terry Thompson Art
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Swanson Crush on Rooti
By Terry Thompson
Located in Burlingame, CA
'Swanson Crush on Rooti', oil on canvas, 40 x 60 inches, proudly presented by Andra Norris Gallery in California. Terry Thompson looks for beauty in the often overlooked, painting in...
Category
2010s Realist Terry Thompson Art
Materials
Canvas, Oil
El Tavern (Vacancy IV)
By Terry Thompson
Located in Burlingame, CA
'El Tavern (Vacancy IV)', oil on canvas, unframed and 40 x 60 inches. Terry Thompson looks for beauty in the often overlooked, painting in a photorealistic style various "Pop" cultur...
Category
Early 2000s Realist Terry Thompson Art
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Sky Ranch
By Terry Thompson
Located in Burlingame, CA
'Sky Ranch', oil on canvas, 40 x 60 inches, proudly presented by Andra Norris Gallery in California. Terry Thompson looks for beauty in the often overlooked, painting in a photoreali...
Category
2010s Realist Terry Thompson Art
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Pinkie's Pizza
By Terry Thompson
Located in Burlingame, CA
'Pinkie's Pizza', oil on panel, 30 x 40 inches, proudly presented by Andra Norris Gallery in California. Terry Thompson looks for beauty in the often overlooked, painting in a photor...
Category
2010s Realist Terry Thompson Art
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Billiards
By Terry Thompson
Located in Burlingame, CA
'Billiards', oil on canvas, unframed and 30 x 48 inches. Terry Thompson looks for beauty in the often overlooked, painting in a photorealistic style various "Pop" culture products th...
Category
Early 2000s Realist Terry Thompson Art
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Chinatown II
By Terry Thompson
Located in Burlingame, CA
'Chinatown II', oil on canvas, unframed and 48 x 30 inches. Terry Thompson looks for beauty in the often overlooked, painting in a photorealistic style various "Pop" culture products...
Category
Early 2000s Realist Terry Thompson Art
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Liquor Deli
By Terry Thompson
Located in Fairfield, CT
For nearly twenty years, Thompson has focused primarily on painting old neon signs that have somehow avoided the wrecking ball - the signs that have live...
Category
2010s Photorealist Terry Thompson Art
Materials
Canvas, Oil
TV Dinner - Ham
By Terry Thompson
Located in Fairfield, CT
Represented by George Billis Gallery, Los Angeles -- Artist Statement
Nothing But Neon, 2021
I see beauty in old neon signs.
I have always been fascinated by the glow inside the h...
Category
2010s Photorealist Terry Thompson Art
Materials
Oil, Panel
Hot Cake House
By Terry Thompson
Located in Fairfield, CT
For nearly twenty years, Thompson has focused primarily on painting old neon signs that have somehow avoided the wrecking ball - the signs that have live...
Category
2010s Photorealist Terry Thompson Art
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Orpheum
By Terry Thompson
Located in Fairfield, CT
For nearly twenty years, Thompson has focused primarily on painting old neon signs that have somehow avoided the wrecking ball - the signs that have live...
Category
2010s Photorealist Terry Thompson Art
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Reno Circus Circus
By Terry Thompson
Located in Fairfield, CT
For nearly twenty years, Thompson has focused primarily on painting old neon signs that have somehow avoided the wrecking ball - the signs that have live...
Category
2010s Photorealist Terry Thompson Art
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Garden of Eden
By Terry Thompson
Located in Fairfield, CT
Thompson's oil paintings of neon signage explore his appreciation for how these hand-made signs are built. This may be a result of the many years he spent as an equipment engineer in...
Category
2010s American Realist Terry Thompson Art
Materials
Oil, Canvas
Hollywood Premiere
By Terry Thompson
Located in Fairfield, CT
Artist Statement
Nothing But Neon, 2021
I see beauty in old neon signs.
I have always been fascinated by the glow inside the hand-bent, glass tubes. I enjoy the sculptural, mechan...
Category
2010s Photorealist Terry Thompson Art
Materials
Oil, Canvas
Tropicana Motor Hotel
By Terry Thompson
Located in Fairfield, CT
Artist Statement
Nothing But Neon, 2021
I see beauty in old neon signs.
I have always been fascinated by the glow inside the hand-bent, glass tubes. I enjoy the sculptural, mechan...
Category
2010s Photorealist Terry Thompson Art
Materials
Oil, Canvas
Oakland Burgers & Pies
By Terry Thompson
Located in Fairfield, CT
For nearly twenty years, Thompson has focused primarily on painting old neon signs that have somehow avoided the wrecking ball - the signs that have live...
Category
2010s Photorealist Terry Thompson Art
Materials
Canvas, Oil
T-Bird Motel
By Terry Thompson
Located in Fairfield, CT
Artist Statement
Nothing But Neon, 2021
I see beauty in old neon signs.
I have always been fascinated by the glow inside the hand-bent, glass tubes. I enjo...
Category
2010s Photorealist Terry Thompson Art
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Rio
By Terry Thompson
Located in Fairfield, CT
Artist Statement
Nothing But Neon, 2021
I see beauty in old neon signs.
I have always been fascinated by the glow inside the hand-bent, glass tubes. I enjoy the sculptural, mechan...
Category
2010s Photorealist Terry Thompson Art
Materials
Oil, Canvas
$7,800
Aladdin
By Terry Thompson
Located in Fairfield, CT
Artist Statement
Nothing But Neon, 2021
I see beauty in old neon signs.
I have always been fascinated by the glow inside the hand-bent, glass tubes. I enjoy the sculptural, mechan...
Category
2010s Photorealist Terry Thompson Art
Materials
Oil, Canvas
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Terry Thompson art for sale on 1stDibs.
Find a wide variety of authentic Terry Thompson art available for sale on 1stDibs. If you’re browsing the collection of art to introduce a pop of color in a neutral corner of your living room or bedroom, you can find work that includes elements of blue, pink and other colors. You can also browse by medium to find art by Terry Thompson in oil paint, paint, canvas and more. Much of the original work by this artist or collective was created during the 21st century and contemporary and is mostly associated with the Photorealist style. Not every interior allows for large Terry Thompson art, so small editions measuring 24 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of Charles Ford, Gustavo Schmidt, and Mark Schiff. Terry Thompson art prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $6,000 and tops out at $10,856, while the average work can sell for $7,800.