For decades Thomas Lyon Mills has documented and drawn his dreams, in which the seen and unseen co-exist: trees and mosses dissolve into underground tunnels and streams, apparitions reside among strange and marvelous creatures. These dreams are prophetic—harbingers of where to work. To enter this boundary world of memory, time and dreams, Mills begins all his paintings and drawings alone at closed ancient sites including the Roman and Neapolitan catacombs, Mayan ruins, the top of the Parthenon, and abandoned Byzantine caves in Turkey. Back in his Rhode Island studio he works, often for years, cross-pollinating locations and dreams. With three-dimensional models he introduces new ideas: animal bones and old tools substitute for on-site trees and stumps; stacks of abandoned mud wasp houses peppered with oblong tunnels become archeological labyrinths in miniature. To express his beliefs, Mills quotes the Russian mystic Pavel Florensky “that the invisible world (still unearthly, still invisible) is breathing: and that both this and another world are dissolving into each other.”
EMPLOYMENT
1986-present Rhode Island School of Design Providence, RI Professor, Division of Experimental and Foundation Studies
1989 – 1991 Rhode Island School of Design Rome, Italy Chief Critic, European Honors Program
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2016 Bristol Art Museum Bristol RI
2015 Tarble Arts Center Charleston IL
2011, 2007, 2004 Luise Ross Gallery New York NY
2011 Indiana University Bloomington IN
2010 Bob Rauschenberg Gallery Fort Myers FL
2006, 2002, 1999 Lenore Gray Gallery Providence RI
2006, 2004, 2003, 2002 Department of Architecture, University of Arkansas Fayetteville AR
2003 Rivier College Nashua NH
2000 College of Architecture, Construction and Design, Auburn University Auburn AL
1995 Tyler School of Art / Temple University Rome Rome Italy
1994 Space One Eleven Gallery Birmingham AL
1994 Asbury College Wilmore KY
1993 Wheeler Gallery Providence RI
1993171 Cedar Arts Center Corning NY
1992 BEB Gallery, Rhode Island School of Design Providence RI
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2016 “Drawing Upon Drawing” Indiana University Center for Art + Design; curated by Jennifer Riley Columbus IN
2016 Little Biennale” Traveling Exhibition Temple University Philadelphia PA and Rome, Italy
2015, 2009, 2006, 2005, 2003 Luise Ross Gallery New York NY
2015 “Land Ho!” Fitchburg Art Museum Fitchburg MA
2015 The University of Wyoming Art Museum; curated by Harvey Hix Laramie WY
2014 Front Room Gallery curated by Linda Griggs Brooklyn NY
2014 Torrance Art Museum; curated by James Scarborough Torrance CA
2014 “From RISD in Rome” Rhode Island School of Design Providence RI
2013 “Metro Show” (through Luise Ross Gallery) New York NY
2013 “Contemporary Drawing” New Bedford Art Museum New Bedford MA
2013 Printmaking Exhibition Benson Hall Gallery, Rhode Island School of Design Providence RI
2012, 2009, 2005, 2002 Collectors’ Exhibition Arkansas Arts Center Little Rock AR
2012, 2009, 2005, 2002 “Timestamp” The Chazan Gallery at Wheeler Providence RI
2011, 1998, 1992 Rhode Island State Council on the Arts Fellowship (First Prize in Painting)
2011, 1998, 1992 The Artists’ Cooperative Gallery of Westerly Westerly RI
2010 Southern Graphic Council Conference Philadelphia PA
2010 Jewett Gallery, Wellesley College Wellesley MA
2009 American Academy in Rome Rome Italy
2009 “Treasures from the Boston Athenaeum” Boston Athenaeum Boston MA
2009, 2007, 2005, 2004, 2003, 2001, 2000, 1999 Lenore Gray Gallery Providence RI
2008 Chazan Gallery Providence RI
2008 Kansas State University Manhattan KS
2005 Mississippi Museum of Art Jackson MS
2004 “Landscapes Seen and Imagined: Sense of Place” DeCordova Museum and Sculpture Park Lincoln MA
2004 “Paperworks” Providence Art Club Juror’s First Prize Providence RI
2002, 1987The Drawing Center New York NY
2001 Grimshaw-Gudwicz Gallery, Bristol Community College Fall River MA
2001 Adirondack Community College Glens Falls NY
2000 “Virginia Lynch: A Curatorial Retrospective” The Rhode Island Foundation Providence RI
1999 “Front Line: Contemporary Draughtsmen in New England” The Boston Athenaeum Boston MA
1998 Associated American Artists New York NY
1998 Bristol Art Museum Juror’s First Prize Bristol RI
1997 Allan Stone Gallery New York NY
1997 Hunt Cavanagh Gallery, Providence College Providence RI
1995 Exhibition and Symposium, Rhode Island School of Design Providence RI
1995 “Studio Aperto” Studio Claudio Carli Assisi Italy
1995 Virginia Lynch Gallery Tiverton RI
1994 Yale University Gallery New Haven CT
1994 Hera Gallery Wakefield RI
1993 “11 Artists /11 Visions” DeCordova Museum Lincoln MA
1993 Selected Faculty Works, Rhode Island School of Design Providence RI
1993 171 Cedar Arts Center Corning NY
1993 Hydrangea Gallery Newport RI
1992 Cornell University Ithaca NY
1992 “Drawing: Across the Board” Maryland College of Art MD and Bucks County Community College PA
1991, 1990 European Honors Program Gallery, Rhode Island School of Design Rome Italy
1990 Residence of the United States Ambassador Rome Italy
1989 Urban Institute of Contemporary Art Grand Rapids MI
1989 Virginia Lynch Gallery Tiverton RI
1987 – 2017 Biennial Faculty Exhibitions, Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design Providence RI
LECTURES, VISITING ARTIST
2016 “Drawing and the Brain” Symposium Presenter; Indiana University Center for Art + Design Columbus IN
2015 Eastern Illinois University Charleston IL
2015 Featured Artist: Art & Design Today Peru State College Peru NE
2016, 2020, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007Harvard University, Graduate School of Design Lecturer, Career Discovery Summer Program Cambridge MA
2012 Solo Juror Annual Bristol Art Museum Juried Exhibition Bristol RI
2011 The Distinguished Bryant Lecturer, Kansas State University Manhattan KS
2011 State University of New York, Purchase Purchase NY
2011 Indiana University Bloomington IN
2011 Rhode Island School of Design Department of Illustration Lecturer, Critic Providence RI
2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2004 Parsons School of Design New York NY
2010 University of Arkansas School of Architecture Summer Urban Studio Mexico
2008 Harvard University, Graduate School of Design Lecturer, Pecha Kucha #4 Cambridge MA
2008 The Bauhaus, Architecture Visiting Student Group Drawing Workshop, Lecturer, Critic
2008 Dessau Germany and RISD Department of Architecture Providence RI
2008, 2007, 2001, 2000, 1999, 1997 Harvard University, Graduate School of Design Lecturer, Critic Cambridge MA
2008, 2002, 2001, 1994, 1991 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, School of Architecture Lecturer, Visiting Critic Rome Italy
2008, 2002, 1999, 1995, 1994 Rhode Island School of Design, European Honors Program Lecturer, Critic Rome Italy
2008Rhode Island School of Design Lecturer, Symposium on Teaching and Learning Providence RI
2003 Cranbrook Academy of Art Lecturer, Critic Bloomfield Hills MI
2002, 1994, 1991 Tyler School of Art/ Temple University Rome Rome Italy
2001, 1999, 1997, 1996 University of Massachusetts Dartmouth MA
2000 Auburn University, College of Architecture, Design & Construction Auburn AL
1995 Aegean Center for the Fine Arts Paros Greece
PUBLIC COLLECTIONS
Arkansas Arts Center Little Rock AR
Boston Athenaeum Boston MA
Columbia Museum of Art Columbia SC
DeCordova Museum and Sculpture Park Lincoln MA
Fitchburg Art Museum Fitchburg MA
Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, Cornell University Ithaca NY
Keuka College Keuka Park NY
Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design Providence RI
Parrocchia Lateranese di Sant’ Agnese fuori le Mura Rome Italy
Saint Leo University St. Leo FL
SGC International Archive, Millsaps College Jackson MS
Tyler School of Art / Temple University Printmaking Permanent Collection Philadelphia PA
HONORS, AWARDS, PUBLISHED ARTICLES
2016, 2008, 2004, 1999, 1998, 1994, 1993 Professional Development Grants, Rhode Island School of Design
2013 Loom art magazine, inaugural issue central spread
2011, 1998, 1992Rhode Island State Council on the Arts Fellowship in Painting (First Prize in Painting)
2011, 2009, 2007, 2004 Division of Foundation Studies Grants Rhode Island School of Design
2010 Catalog and Website Essay, The Work of John Udvardy
2008 Catalog and Website Essay, The Work of Jonathan Hynd
2005, 2004Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers
2001 Catalog Essay, Hackett-Freedman Gallery “John Evans: the Intimacy of Deep Space” San Francisco CA
1999 Essay, RISD Views, December Issue Providence RI “Pathways to the Invisible”
1996 John R. Frazier Award for Excellence in Teaching RI School of Design
1992 MacDowell Colony Fellowship Peterborough NH
EDUCATION
1980 MFA Cranbrook Academy of Art Bloomfield Hills MI
1978 BFA Cleveland Institute of Art Cleveland OH
1977 Yale Summer School of Music and Art Norfolk CT
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY
At Taqi-Brown, Meka (2015, September 3) review of “Thomas Lyon Mills: The Catacombs” at the Tarble Art Center
[Charleston IL] Daily Eastern News.
Huffington Post. (2014, June 10) review of “Cartographia: Artifacts of a Creative Journey” huffingtonpost.com
Einspruch, Franklin. (2012) Profile: Thomas Lyon Mills. Playspace art magazine, inaugural issue.
RISD/XYZ. (2013) Sketchbook: essay & reproductions
Van Siclen, Bill. (2012, March 15). Themes of Memory, Time.[Providence, RI]: The Providence Journal.
Lombardi, D. Dominick (November 18, 2011). Buried Treasure. [Culture Catch]: culturecatch.com
Norris, Doug (2011, February 3). Showcasing the Ocean State. [Wakefield, RI]: South County Independent.
Runnels, Charles (2010, January 8). Artist feels right at home in Rome’s Catacombs. [Fort Myers, Florida]:
The News-Press, Gulf Coasting.
Martinez, Andrew & O’Neill, Peter (2008, May). Documentary Film: Rhode Island School of Design,
The European Honors Program and the paintings of Thomas Lyon Mills (release date TBA)
Amy, Michael. (2008, February). Thomas Lyon Mills at Luise Ross. [New York, NY]: Art in America, pp. 148-149.
Drury, Fritz & Stryker, Joanne. (2008) Drawing: Structure and Vision, pp.315-317, 318. [Pearson / Prentice Hall, NJ]
Van Siclen, Bill. (2007, November 22). Drawing does matter, as seen in two new Providence shows.
[Providence, RI]: The Providence Journal.
Murphy, Michael Tyson. (2007, September 26). Art/Thomas Lyon Mills. [Internet posting]: www.mtmurmur.com.
Van Siclen, Bill. (2007, July). [Providence, RI]: The Providence Journal.
Van Siclen, Bill. (2006, January 12). Vertigo in Rome’s Catacombs. [Providence, RI]: The Providence Journal.
McKown, Rich. (2004, April/May). Thomas Lyon Mills: 73 Prayers in the Underground. Art New England.
Orlandi, Silvia. (2003, December). Il Colosseo. [Berlin, Germany]: Conference.
Karlon, Marty (2003, November 16). Art Inspired by Roman Catacombs. [Nashua , NH]: The Telegraph.
Grimm, Ellen. (2003, October 26). Underground Dreams. [Nashua , NH]: The Telegraph.
Van Siclen, Bill. (2003, August 7). Art Scene. [Providence, RI]: The Providence Journal.
House, PhD., Halford. (2003, March 13-16). The Secret Language of Water. [North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC]:
LABASH Conference.
Van Siclen, Bill. (2002, November 28). Live This Weekend. [Providence, RI]: The Providence Journal.
Van Siclen, Bill. (2002, August 8). Art Scene. [Providence, RI]: The Providence Journal.
Gray, Channing. (2001, February 8). Unusual Landscapes adorn a great new gallery. [Providence, RI]:
Art Scene. The Providence Journal.
Gray, Channing. (2000), July 27). Art Scene. [Providence, RI]: The Providence Journal.
Wendorf, Richard. (1999). Front Line: Ten contemporary draughtsmen in New England. [Boston, MA]: The Boston Athenaeum.
Barkan, Hope. (1999). Front Line: Ten contemporary draughtsmen in New England. [Boston, MA]: The Boston Athenaeum.
Wentworth, Michael. (1999). Annual Report. [purchases and acquisitions]: [Boston, MA]: The Boston Athenaeum.
Temin, Christine. (1999, May 12). Athenaeum show celebrates low-tech art of the line. [Boston, MA]: The Boston Globe, p. F1.
Van Siclen, Bill. (1999, March 19). Art Wrapup. [Providence, RI]:The Providence Journal.
Van Siclen, Bill. (1998, June 26). Art Wrapup. [Providence, RI]:The Providence Journal.
Faxon, Alicia. (1998, October/November). 1998 National Juried Exhibition. Art New England.
Seay, Suzanne. (1997, March 20). Artists’ work reflect the effort of creation. [Glens Falls, NY]: The Post Star
Hurst, Sheldon. (1997, March). Painting and drawing: Gerald Immonen and Thomas Lyon Mills.
[Visual Arts Gallery, Glens Falls, NY]: Adirondack Community College
Southard, Megan. (1997, February 6). At the gallery…[Providence College, Providence, RI]: The Cowl.
Lestingi, Mariella. (1995, Spring-Summer). Thomas Lyon Mills. Senza tempo ne luogo.
[Rome, Italy]: Next. (Italian Art Magazine)
Rosen, Dora. (1995, January and February). Thomas Lyon Mills and Laura Prange. [Birmingham, AL]. Art Papers.
Nelson, James R. (1994, June 19). Art happenings. [Birmingham, AL]: The Birmingham News.
Fritts, Kevin. (1994, March 11). Worlds of landscape collide in artist’s work.
[Asbury College, Wilmore, KY]: The Collegian
Van Siclen, Bill. (1993, February 19). Art Wrapup. [Providence, RI]: The Providence Journal.
Reilly, Mark. (1993, May 13). Artist Mills’s work on exhibit at 171 Cedar. [Corning, NY]: The Leader.
Temin, Christine. (1993, June 29). DeCordova scores a perfect 10. [Boston, MA]: The Boston Globe.
Sherman, Mary. (1993, July 4). Uneven offerings cloud “Visions”. [Boston, MA]: The Boston Herald.
McQuaid, Cate. (1993, July). 11 Artists at the Decordova. [Boston, MA]: The Boston Phoenix.
Carlock, Marty. (1993, July). Walls of DeCordova alive with works of 11 artists. [Lincoln, MA]: The Lincoln Journal and
[Framingham, MA]: The Framingham Weekly.
Nigrosh, Leon. (1993, August 27). Eleven up. [Worcester, MA]: The Worcester Phoenix.