Visiting artist Thomas Wharton, an assistant professor of art and director of the Clausen Art Gallery at Briar Cliff University in Sioux City, will present a public artist talk from 2:10–3 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 21, in 0011 Design (printmaking studio).

A painter and sculpture, Wharton explores how light and shadow define physical space and create illusions, reflections, and moods. To that end, he sculpts wooden “spindles,” which he uses as dimmer switches for modernly inspired luminaires to create sets for still-life images.

Wharton has exhibited nationally at First Street Gallery in New York, the Granite City Art and Design District in Granite City, Illinois, and Satellite Contemporary in Las Vegas, among others. His work is in many institutional collections, including the Old Omaha Association Art Collection, Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennslyvania, and the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) in Georgia.

Wharton received his BFA from SCAD in 2011 and his MFA in painting from the University of Tennessee Knoxville in 2015.