Artist Statement
My studio has always been the place where I unravel and begin examining my experiences. I once read that there are two types of artists: those who see the canvas as a window to the outer world and those who view it as a mirror of their inner world. I fall into the latter category. Still, my experiences have never fit neatly into boxes.
Growing up, I desperately wanted to feel understood. A child’s sadness is rarely taken seriously, and that longing has remained with me throughout my life. In search of clarity, I earned a psychology degree to make sense of my psychosomatic and chronic illnesses. Between assignments, I taught myself the fundamentals of art and began creating self-portraits. Over time, I realized that artmaking reveals more about myself and others than I could ever anticipate.
Through portraiture, vulnerability, and various painting mediums, my creative practice becomes a mirror for private experiences often left unspoken. I make art to understand, but also to remind anyone who has ever felt unseen that their inner worlds matter.
Artist Biography
Lex R. Thomas is a representational artist based in Lafayette, Louisiana. They primarily work in painting mediums and immersive performance, driven by a willingness to share personal vulnerabilities with viewers. Their work transcends physical distance to reveal common human experiences through art. Lex’s work has been featured in local and national juried exhibitions, including Our Point in Space, the Masur Museum’s 61st Annual Juried Competition, Cur Non, and Eye of the Beholder, as well as in solo exhibitions The Human Condition and Wildflowers.
Alongside Emma Sonnier, Lex co-founded ARCHIVES Exhibitions and has produced multiple local group exhibitions, including Systems, BOUNDARIES, and whimsy. They co-directed the installation-performance piece, Emergence, with Bethany LeJeune and have performed in works directed by Paige Barnett Kulbeth and Clare Cook. Lex was a 2023 recipient of the ArtSpark Individual Artist Grant awarded by the Acadiana Center for the Arts and remains active in local community initiatives.