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TOM THAYER

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tom_thayer

Had to fire up a 17-year-old computer for a file o Had to fire up a 17-year-old computer for a file of a NNCK music video I made back then. Ended up going down an old photo rabbit hole.
1. This was my favorite work of art I made when I was a kid.
2. Early 70s: my Dad and me. He was a good guy. He passed away this year. 
3. 70s Midwestern childhood.
4. Mid-80s high school. I was a Jesus and Mary Chain fan.
5. 1990 psychonaut/ acid casualty.
6 &7. 1990s strange movies I made with my siblings.
8&9. Nashville scene. Teaching art in TN.
10. At last, the NNCK video.
There are only a few days left to visit MoMA PS1’s There are only a few days left to visit MoMA PS1’s Greater New York show. I feel incredibly honored to have participated in the exhibition, to have met and exhibited alongside the other GNY artists, and to have collaborated with such a fantastic team at PS1. I can’t thank Kari Rittenbach and Ruba Katrib enough for their IRL, feet-on-the-ground curating. A year ago, in the middle of sweltering July, they trekked all the way out to a dark basement in NJ where my art world happens to find out what I’m up to. It’s been so great working with them, and everyone else at PS1 too- Zachary Taube, Lilly Hern-Fondation, Pap Souleye Fall, and the rest of the installation crew, as well as Kari and Nick Scavo (and Nick’s crew) for my performance. Everyone I dealt with there was fantastic- such a cool and smart group. And I also want to thank Bureau for all their help and my son, Henry, for performing with me. It was a total dream to work with you all!
@momaps1 @krittenbach #rubakatrib @nickyscavo @snacktaube @papsouleye00 @bureau_
Repost from @newyorkartcriticsassociation • Tom Th Repost from @newyorkartcriticsassociation
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Tom Thayer in Greater New York 2026, MoMA PS1, thru Aug. 17.

A favorite image from this show, a close up of one of Tom Thayer’s curious creatures. This artist has something we can always use more of nowadays: animate imagination. The other a.i.
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2 PM today @momaps1 reserve free tickets at PS1’s 2 PM today @momaps1 reserve free tickets at PS1’s website
Reserve your free tickets to my performance this S Reserve your free tickets to my performance this Saturday (May 30th) at 2 p.m. @momaps1 for Greater New York 2026. Link in bio.
Also on the bill are @yuchenyuchen (3 p.m) and @kitekitekitekitekite (4 p.m.)
Repost from @momaps1 • Conceived in the wee hours Repost from @momaps1
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Conceived in the wee hours between sleep and waking, Tom Thayer’s new “scenographic play,” performed with his son Henry on May 30, unfolds from image fragments, folk-tale remnants, and echoes from nature into something that pokes at the threshold of the dream world.

Thayer’s expansive, psychedelic, lo-fi work sharpens into vivid form and recedes into shadow, using sound, light, live video mixing, and manipulable sculpture to create a portal into another world. His works oscillate between seemingly meager detail and cosmic questions of ontology, betraying an openness that runs counter to the technocratic organization of the present.

“Counterdoses for the Home” is a site-responsive installation in Greater New York that features a new instrument assembled from the metal struts of his teenage son Henry’s (since-outgrown) bed.

Grab your free tickets to experience @tom_thayer’s world next weekend, as part of the Greater New York Performance Program. “Counterdoses for the Home” is on view in Greater New York through August 17.

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Tom Thayer (@tom_thayer). “Counterdoses for the Home,” 2026. Mixed media. Dimensions variable.
Repost from @cultured_mag Ahead of @momaps1’s annu Repost from @cultured_mag
Ahead of @momaps1’s annual gala, celebrating its 50th anniversary, critic @johannafateman took us through the museum’s latest show: this year’s edition of “Greater New York,” a quinquennial survey spotlighting artists working in and around the city.

Moving floor by floor through the exhibition, Fateman traces a noticeable shift away from slick spectacle and toward something more handmade and local: delivery bikes treated as conceptual sculpture, installations built from foil and found materials, and immersive works created with distinctly DIY means.

Watch along, then head to the link in bio for Fateman’s full review.
Repost from @allupinit_123 • @mr._hug photos Hudso Repost from @allupinit_123
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@mr._hug photos Hudson Runway II pt 2 ✨🧥💖
Repost from @allupinit_123 Back by popular demand! Repost from @allupinit_123
Back by popular demand! alLuPiNiT & Düspati Review present HUDSON RUNWAY Il; Sunday, May 3, 2026, 2-6pm; 579 Hudson St. NYC 

Custom Jackets by:

Kelly Bugden ~ Dietmar Busse ~ Jorge Clar ~ Dana Avendano Delvalle ~ Christen Clifford ~ Scot Chiatoo - Keith Connolly ~ Peter Cramer - Billy Erb - Jen Fisher ~ Jim Fletcher ~ Ryan Foerster ~ Danielle Gadus ~ Isaac Gerard - Myranda Gillies - Sara Glick ~ Kendall Glover ~ Suzanne Goldenberg ~ Erik Hanson ~ Patrice Aphrodite Helmar ~ Scott Hug ~ Craig Jun Li ~ Darryl LaVare ~ Robert McNeill ~ Mehdi Matin ~ Tyler Maxin ~ Dávý Náya Mayá ~ Mieko Meguro ~ Sophy Naess ~ Aaisha P. ~ Laura Parnes ~ Juliet Rania ~ Amy Elise Safrankova ~ Michelle Salazar ~ Nick Sethi ~ Ethan Shoshan ~ Sur Rodney Sur ~ Rafael Sánchez ~ TARWUK ~ Gail Thacker ~ Tom Thayer ~ Naomi Luna Tinga ~ John Tremblay - Sarah Valdez ~ Loretta Violante ~ Phillip Ward ~ Jack Waters ~ Van Wifvat

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#allupinitnyc
#duspatireview
Repost from @momaps1 Class of 2026: meet (many of) Repost from @momaps1
Class of 2026: meet (many of) the artists & curators of Greater New York🗽

Experience their work in our sweeping survey of those who call this city home—on view through August 17 at MoMA PS1.

Marie Angeletti (@angelikana_13)
Sophie Becker (@trophysophie)
Jay Carrier (@jaycarrierart)
Cevallos Brothers (@cevallos_bros)
Yuchen Chang (@yuchenyuchen)
Devlin Claro (@devclaro)
Mary Helena Clark (@maryhelenaclark)
Taína Cruz (@virtualtai)
Janiva Ellis (@janivaellis)
Sophie Friedman-Pappas (@sloapy)
Covey Gong (@cvygng)
Mekko Harjo (@mekkoh)
Rachel Handlin (@handlinrachel)
fields harrington (@internal_field)
Hardy Hill (@werthers___original_)
Candace Hill Montgomery (landscape)
Arlan Huang (@orlandonofly)
Akira Ikezoe (@makira)
Esteban Jefferson (@estebanjefferson)
Kite (@kitekitekitekitekite)
Coco Klockner (@coco_herewithme_dido)
Marc Kokopeli (@kingofvenmo)
Andre Magaña (@andremagana_)
Vijay Masharani (@vijay.masharani)
Taro Masushio
Win McCarthy (@s1ckpasseng3r)
Dean Majd (@deanmajd)
Metoac Indigenous Collective (@metoaccollective)
Dean Millien (@deanmillien)
Ian Miyamura (@man_ur_iam_iya)
Kameron Neal (@kamer_n)
Louis Osmosis (@louisosmosis)
Piero Penizzoto (@piero.penizzotto)
Georgica Pettus (@georgica)
María-Elena Pombo (@fragmentario_)
Nickola Pottinger (nickolapottinger)
Farah Al-Qasimi (@frequentlyaskedquestion)
Kameelah Janan Rasheed (@kameelahr)
Red Canary Song (@redcanarysong)
G. Rosa Rey (@g.rosa.rey)
Coumba Samba (@savecoumba)
Cinthya Santos Briones (@cinthyasantosb)
Symara Sarai (@symarasarai)
Rezarta Seferi (@mommylovesyu)
Tiffany Sia (@t1ffany4scal3)
Sofía Sinibaldi (@sofiasinibaldi)
Kenneth Tam (@kenneth__tam)
Tom Thayer (@tom_thayer)
Julia Wachtel (@juliawachtel)
Kristin Walsh (@digitinjury)
Poyen Wang
Women’s History Museum (@womens_history_museum)
Cici Wu

📸: Walter Wlodarczyk @wlodarczyk
Repost from @hyperallergic Hyperallergic descended Repost from @hyperallergic
Hyperallergic descended on MoMA PS1 for a preview of “Greater New York,” which includes the work of more than 50 artists who are currently in what the museum calls the “formative years of their career.”

This survey of artists working and living in New York City is back for the sixth time since its inception in 2000 — just in time for the museum’s 50th anniversary. It’s a snapshot not only of their individual trajectories, but of our great city as it continues to evolve in a time of deep anxiety and cautious hope. 

Our first impressions? It’s human, gritty, and multicultural. Just like our city.

Read more first impressions of “Greater New York” 2026 from Hrag Vartanian (hragv), Lisa Yin Zhang (@lisayinzhang), and Rhea Nayyar (@rhea.nayyar) on hyperallergic.com. 
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All photos Hrag Vartanian/Hyperallergic unless otherwise noted

Images 2 & 3: Installation view of Greater New York 2026, with works by Covey Gong in foreground

Image 4: Dean Majd, photographs from the Birthmark and Separation series (2018–26), archival pigment prints

Image 5: Installation view of Tom Thayer, “Counterdoses for the Home” (2026), mixed media installation (photo Lisa Yin Zhang/Hypereallergic)
Repost from @bureau_ Bureau is proud to announce T Repost from @bureau_
Bureau is proud to announce Tom Thayer’s inclusion in MoMA PS1’s Greater New York 2026.

April 16 - August 17, 2026

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Tom Thayer will present a new installation, Counterdoses for the Home, a spellbinding atmosphere stitched together by overlapping sounds, images and floating shadows. The darkened room is brought to life by Thayer’s latest video animations on box monitors, a new motorized instrument-sculpture, a 35mm projected painted slide, and spindly, suspended puppets. The constellation of handmade elements synthesize and change in the conditions of the room, rendering it impossible to see the same configuration of Thayer’s creation twice. Several puppet sculptures, drawings and other objects are on display in a nearby vitrine for close inspection. The artist will also debut a new scenographic play as part of a series of performances presented at PS1 on May 30, 2026.
 
 
Tom Thayer (b. 1970, Chicago Heights, IL; lives and works in New Jersey). Solo and two-person exhibitions include I Want to Climb Through the Windows of My Eyes and Become Static Electricity, Matt Hoyt & Tom Thayer, Bureau, NY (2024); What you wonder about is what you know– as well as the other way around., Derek Eller Gallery, New York, NY (2022); Einig, Matt Hoyt & Tom Thayer, Stations, Berlin, Germany (2019); Make a Pinch Pot Out of Your Mouth, Derek Eller Gallery, New York, NY (2019). Group exhibitions include Le Contre-Ciel, curated by Olivia Shao, Empty Gallery, Hong Kong (2024); Nurikabe, Tetsuo’s Garage, Nikko, Japan (2019); I got the Moon in the Morning and the Sun at Night, WallRiss Gallery, Fribourg, Switzerland (2019); 2012 Whitney Biennial, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY (2012); Looking Back: The White Columns Annual, selected by Jay Sanders, White Columns, New York, NY (2008). 

Pictured: Still from Counterdoses for the Home, 2026, Mixed media, Dimensions variable 

#TomThayer #GreaterNewYork2026 @momaps1
Repost from @momaps1 In case you missed it—the Gre Repost from @momaps1
In case you missed it—the Greater New York performance program just dropped. As part of Greater New York 2026, join us to experience performances by artists whose work examines the fluctuating currency of ideas, attention, and value that structure life today. Mark your calendar and join us over three Saturdays in May and June; free tickets for May 2 performances are now available at the link in bio.

May 2: Rezarta Seferi, Sophie Becker, Symara Sarai
May 30: Tom Thayer, Chang Yuchen & Kameelah Janan Rasheed, Kite
June 27: Georgica Pettus

[1-8] : Portrait of Sophie Becker with Olive, 2026. Photo: Courtesy the artist; Georgica Pettus. Skyscraper. 2025. Courtesy the artist. Photo: Renée Paule; Symara Sarai performing The LOVE piece, Danspace Project, New York, 2025. Photo: Courtesy the artist; Tom Thayer, painting backdrop with projection and puppets used for scenographic play, Loong Mah, New York, 2021. Acrylic, ink, tempera, graphite, papier-mâché, wire, cardboard, string, wood, tape, found fabric, painted glass, and 35mm slide projection. Dimensions variable. Photo: Courtesy the artist; Chang Yuchen. Coral Dictionary (36 Sentences), 2019–ongoing. Graphite on paper, coral debris, and ephemera. Photo: Courtesy the artist; Kite. rereading the constellations to fit my desires. 2025. Black deer hide and mirror. 1 × 50 × 54 inches. Courtesy the artist and Bockley Gallery, Minneapolis; Rezarta Seferi performing at Segue Reading Series, Artists Space, New York, 2025. Photo: Courtesy the artist; Kameelah Janan Rasheed. we leak, we exceed (installation view). 2025. Photo: Jonathan Vanderweit
I am excited to share this news! Repost from @bure I am excited to share this news!
Repost from @bureau_
Bureau is proud to announce the representation of Tom Thayer.

Tom Thayer (b. 1970, Chicago) is an American artist whose practice shifts between media, transforming modest, often repurposed materials into imaginative, interwoven scenes of a mysterious world. Thayer works in drawing, collage, and sculpture, often activating these forms within his spellbinding scenographic plays. In these works, projected light from slides and animation merges with the shadows of suspended, spindly puppet figures of gods, beasts, and birds. Thayer also designs and builds musical instruments; his improvised compositions, both live and recorded, contribute to the immersive, lo-fi totality of his oeuvre. Across all aspects of his practice, he sustains a childlike mode of free association, valuing experimentation over mastery and refinement. Thayer has presented his work for over twenty years at art and performance venues such as The Kitchen, The Museum of Modern Art, Blank Forms, SculptureCenter, White Columns, Issue Project Room, and was included in the 2012 Whitney Biennial. Gallery shows include Derek Eller Gallery, New York; Stations, Berlin; 11Rivington, New York; and Tracey Williams Gallery, New York. In 2024, with artist Matt Hoyt, he presented a two-person exhibition, live performance, and musical release at Bureau: I Want to Climb Through the Windows of My Eyes and Become Static Electricity. In April 2026, his work will be included in Greater New York at MoMA PS1 and he will present a new scenographic play as part of a Greater New York performance program on May 30.

Pictured:
Tom Thayer in performance with Matt Hoyt on the occasion of their two-person exhibition,
I Want to Crawl Through the Windows of My Eyes and Become Static Electricity (2024).

Loss of Spirituality, 2018, Crayon, ink, graphite, and collage on paper, 12 ⅝ × 19 ⅝ in. (32.07 × 49.85 cm)

For more information please email:
office@bureau-inc.com
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Repost from @blankforms_ Highlights from @tom_thay Repost from @blankforms_
Highlights from @tom_thayer’s CIRCADIAN PLAYS 🐆🐫🦒

Over three days in residence at Blank Forms last week, Thayer activated a suite of durational videos and sonic objects, combining animation, collage, computerized graphics, and light design to stage what he calls scenographic plays.

Next up in 1D: Stefan Tcherepnin’s (@through_a_fork) SONGS FOR THE LIVING on Saturday, November 1, and Sunday, November 2.

🎞 @joey_damore
Repost from @blankforms_ “With a sweet redolence o Repost from @blankforms_
“With a sweet redolence of Alexander Calder and his ‘Circus,’ the soulfully playful painter, collagist, and puppeteer Tom Thayer performs manipulations of his paper birds and other creations.” –Peter Schjeldahl, The New Yorker

“Tom Thayer’s reddish room of puppets and crane paintings makes him a modern mythographer by way of William Kentridge and Balinese shadow-plays.” —Jerry Saltz, New York

“There’s an uncertainty around what’s animate and what isn’t, what may have once been alive and what in some sense still might be.” —Domenick Ammirati (@the_no_bird), Spigot

This weekend, multimedia artist @tom_thayer activates a suite of durational videos and sonic objects, combining animation, collage, computerized graphics, and light design to stage what he calls a scenographic play. 

Link in bio to learn more. Tickets still available for Thayer’s Friday evening concert, as well as his Thursday and Friday afternoon durational works. The limited Saturday morning performance is sold out.
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Tom Thayer artist page, Bureau, New York, NY

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