Saverio and Daisy (Navel)
Hank Willis Thomas, Saverio and Daisy (Navel), 2022. Courtesy the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery.
Saverio and Daisy (Navel), 2018
Hank Willis Thomas
Upcoming: Late July 2026
Rolled steel, enamel paint
Like much of Thomas’s work, Saverio and Daisy (Navel) explores the shifting of perspectives through audience participation and interaction. This sculpture is one of a series of bench-artworks by Thomas that replicate the outline of iconic cartoon speech balloons - in this case a playful thought bubble. Shown alongside Ernest and Ruth (Exuberant Pink) on the new esplanade in Biidaasige Park, Thomas's sculptures will frame the impressive Toronto skyline and act as windows onto our urban experience.
Previously exhibited in cities around the world, Thomas’s sculptures take on site and context-specific meanings in each location. The artist notes that “when viewers occupy the piece, they are encouraged to contemplate what it means to inhabit their own speech and beliefs.” At LAT, we invite you to do the same come late July when this section of the park is open.
Hank Willis Thomas
American
Hank Willis Thomas is a world-renowned American conceptual artist primarily working with themes related to perspective, identity, commodity, media, and popular culture. His work has been exhibited internationally at institutions including the International Center of Photography, NYC, New York; the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, Spain; the Musée du quai Branly, Paris, France; the Hong Kong Arts Centre, Hong Kong; and the Kunstinstituut Melly, Rotterdam, Netherlands.
Thomas is also the recipient of numerous fellowships and awards, including the U.S. Department of State Medal of Arts from the Office of Art in Embassies, Washington, D.C. Additionally, he is a founding member of the artist-led organization For Freedoms, lauded as the largest community for creative civic engagement in the United States. His permanent public artworks can be found across the United States, such as Unity (2019) in Brooklyn, NYC where he lives and works.
Portrait of Hank Willis Thomas. Photo Jai Lennard.
