Roland Thompson works at the intersection of painting and sculpture, focusing on material presence and spatial experience. His works invite viewers to slow their perception and become more aware of their bodies in relation to form. Using reductive structures and subtle variations, he treats color, surface, and contour as experiential triggers rather than representational elements.
Thompson has exhibited nationally and internationally at venues such as Mahan Gallery in Ohio, MARTa Herford in Germany, Martos Gallery in California, ParisCONCRET in France, and White Columns in New York.
Thompson’s work is included in the collections of Brigham Young University, the City of Mesa in Arizona, the Fredericksburg Center for the Creative Arts, the Utah Museum of Fine Arts, and Utah Valley University. He earned an MFA from Virginia Commonwealth University, was nominated for the Catherine Doctorow Prize for Contemporary Painting in 2011, and received an Individual Artist Grant from Utah Arts and Museums in 2008. He lives and works in Lindon, Utah.
Curriculum Vitae
Education
2001MFA, 2D Studio, Virginia Commonwealth University, Virginia
1998BFA, 2D Studio, Brigham Young University, Utah
University Teaching Experience
2015-CurrentUtah Valley University, Utah
2002-Current Brigham Young University, Utah
2010-2017 The Art Institute of Pittsburgh-Online Division
2001-2002Virginia Union University, Virginia
Solo Exhibitions
2026A Gallery, Blip, Salt Lake City, Utah
2018Nox Gallery, Informal Structure, Salt Lake City, Utah
2016Martos Gallery, The True Organization of Things, Los Angeles, CA
2014A Gallery, untitled, Salt Lake City, Utah
2011CUAC, Recur, Ephraim, Utah, one-person show
2009Sego Art Center, Twenty-four/Seven, Provo, Utah
2008Sego Art Center, Autumn Au, Provo, Utah
2006Palmer’s Gallery, Tremble, Salt Lake City, Utah
2003The Gallery at Library Square, Gem, Salt Lake City, Utah
2002Brigham Young University, Governing Planets, Utah
Starch, untitled, Richmond, Virginia
Virginia Women’s Center, untitled, Richmond, Virginia
2001Virginia Union University, untitled, Virginia
Group Exhibitions
2026Springville Museum of Art, 102nd Annual Spring Salon, Springville, Utah
Alfa Gallery, Threshold, Miami, Florida
Alfa Gallery, Between Form and Matter, Miami, Florida
A Gallery, Love in the Abstract, Salt Lake City, Utah
Pierogi 2000, Flat Files, Brooklyn, New York
2025Alfa Gallery, Art Baseling Group Exhibition 2025, Miami, Florida
A Gallery, Holiday Show, Salt Lake City, Utah
Gallery on 6th, UVU, Invisible Worlds, Orem, Utah
Museum of Art at Lakemount, UVU, Healing Waters, Orem, Utah
A Gallery, Love in the Abstract, Salt Lake City, Utah
Alfa Gallery, Booth 09, Miami, Florida
Pierogi 2000, Flat Files, Brooklyn, New York
2024A Gallery, Love in the Abstract, Salt Lake City, Utah
Alfa Gallery, Art Baseling Group Exhibition, Miami, Florida
ADA Gallery, Memories, Richmond, Virginia
Pierogi 2000, Flat Files, Brooklyn, New York
2023A Gallery, Summer Solstice, Salt Lake City, Utah
Pierogi 2000, Flat Files, Brooklyn, New York
2022Bountiful Davis Art Center, Urban Pop, Bountiful, Utah
Gallery on 6th, UVU, Reflect and Respond, Utah
A Gallery, Summer Solstice, Salt Lake City, Utah
Pierogi 2000, Flat Files, Brooklyn, New York
2021Harold B. Lee Library, BYU, Touch Our Eyes, Utah
A Gallery, Group Exhibit, Salt Lake City, Utah
Pierogi 2000, Flat Files, Brooklyn, New York
2020A Gallery, Summer Solstice, Salt Lake City, Utah
Pierogi 2000, Flat Files, Brooklyn, New York
2019Church History Museum, Meditations on Belief, Salt Lake City, Utah
A Gallery, Group Exhibit, Salt Lake City, Utah
Pierogi 2000, Flat Files, Brooklyn, New York
2018Woodbury Art Museum, UVU, Art of Our Century, Orem, Utah
A Gallery, Summer Solstice, Salt Lake City, Utah
Pierogi 2000, Flat Files, Brooklyn, New York
2017New American Paintings, 132, October/November 2017
A Gallery, Summer Solstice, Salt Lake City, Utah
Pierogi 2000, Flat Files, Brooklyn, New York
2016Nox Gallery, Moment, Salt Lake City, Utah
Rio Gallery, Painted Veil, Salt Lake City, Utah
CUAC, Utah Ties, Salt Lake City, Utah
A Gallery, Group Exhibit, Salt Lake City, Utah
Pierogi 2000, Flat Files, Brooklyn, New York
2015Fairview Museum of History and Art, Museum of Love and Devotion
A Gallery, Group Exhibit, Salt Lake City, Utah
Pierogi 2000, Flat Files, Brooklyn, New York
2014Marta Herford, Friendly Takeover-Artists Show Their Collection (Katharina Grosse), Herford, Germany
CUAC, Utah Ties, Salt Lake City, Utah
Pierogi 2000, Flat Files, Brooklyn, New York
2013New American Paintings, 108, October/November 2013
ParisCONCRET, Poste Concret 2, Paris, France
Rio Gallery, Tin, Salt Lake City, Utah
Springville Museum of Art, 89th Utah Spring Salon, Springville, Utah
Rio Gallery, Utah 2013: Mixed Media and Works on Paper, Utah
Pierogi 2000, Flat Files, Brooklyn, New York
2012HPGRP Gallery, Secret Decoder Ring, Manhattan, New York
ParisCONCRET, Post-geometric Organisms, Paris, France
Pierogi 2000, Flat Files, Brooklyn, New York
2011Springville Museum of Art, 87th Utah Spring Salon, Springville, Utah
Rio Gallery, Along Those Lines, Salt Lake City, Utah
The Art Museum of Eastern Idaho, Parallel Worlds, Idaho Falls, Utah
Pierogi 2000, Flat Files, Brooklyn, New York
2010Springville Museum of Art, 86th Utah Spring Salon, Springville, Utah
CUAC, Utah Ties, Ephraim, Utah
Pierogi 2000, Flat Files, Brooklyn, New York
2009CUAC, Utah Ties, Ephraim, Utah
Pierogi 2000, Flat Files, Brooklyn, New York
2008Rio Gallery, Individual Artist Grantee Showcase, Salt Lake City, Utah
Pierogi 2000, Flat Files, Brooklyn, New York
2007Springville Museum of Art, 83rd Utah Spring Salon, Springville, Utah
Rio Gallery, Works on Paper, Salt Lake City, Utah
Pierogi 2000, Flat Files, Brooklyn, New York
2006Springville Museum of Art, 82nd Utah Spring Salon, Springville, Utah
Mahan Gallery, Reductive, Columbus, Ohio
Pierogi 2000, Flat Files, Brooklyn, New York
2005Springville Museum of Art, 81st Utah Spring Salon, Springville, Utah
Weber State University, Utah Arts Council: Utah 2005, Utah
Pierogi 2000, Flat Files, Brooklyn, New York
2004Springville Museum of Art, 80th Utah Spring Salon, Springville, Utah
Museum of Contemporary Art, Rocky Mountain Biennial, Colorado
Eccles Art Center, 9th Black and White Competition, Ogden, Utah
Pierogi 2000, Flat Files, Brooklyn, New York
2003White Columns, Random Order, New York City
Pierogi 2000, Flat Files, Brooklyn, New York
2002New American Paintings, 39, May 2002, Volume 7, Issue 2
Springville Museum of Art, 78th Utah Spring Salon, Springville, Utah
Fredericksburg Center for Creative Arts, Out of the Void
Globe Gallery, Reddish Show, Roswell, New Mexico,
Anne Arundel Community College, Concept to Object 2002, MD
Pierogi 2000, Flat Files, Brooklyn, New York
2001 Starch, Group Show, Richmond, Virginia
The Painting Center, Hot & Sticky, Manhattan, New York
Anderson Gallery, MFA Thesis Exhibition, Richmond, Virginia
1708 Gallery, Antelope to Zebra, Richmond, Virginia
20001708 Gallery, The Moveable Feast, Richmond, Virginia
Jewish Community Center, Printmaking, Richmond, Virginia
Tortoise Shell Gallery, Drawing Room, Richmond, Virginia
Virginia Commonwealth University, Meta-Psyche, Virginia
Tyler School of Art, Print Exchange and Exhibition, Pennsylvania
Tortoise Shell Gallery, New Work, Richmond, Virginia
Virginia Commonwealth University, Blossom, Virginia
1999Virginia Commonwealth University, Tyros, Virginia
1708 Gallery, Small Works Show, Richmond, Virginia
Virginia Commonwealth University, E-f(ARM), Virginia
Springville Museum of Art, 75th Utah Spring Salon, Springville, Utah
Repartee Gallery, Europe in Watercolor, Provo, Utah
Historic Utah County Courthouse, Four Lanes, Provo, Utah
1998Springville Museum of Art, 74th Utah Spring Salon, Springville, Utah
St. George Art Museum, Contemporary Mormon Artists, Utah
Weber State University, Utah Intercollegiate Art Show, Utah
1997St. George Art Museum, Regional, St. George, Utah
College of Eastern Utah, Worn, Utah
Galeria Mesa, Vaguely Familiar, Mesa, Arizona
Springville Museum of Art, 73rd Utah Spring Salon, Springville, Utah
1993Springville Museum of Art, 69th Utah Spring Salon, Springville, Utah
Commissions
2021Meta, Data Center, Eagle Mountain, Utah
2015Nu Skin International, Provo, Utah
19991-800-Contacts, Draper, Utah
Press
2026Gina Cavallo, 15 Bytes, “The Precision of Imperfection,” July, 2026
2018Geoff Wichert, 15 Bytes, “Roland Thompson’s Artistic Rediscovery,” December, 2018
2016Artdaily.org, “The True Organization of Things at Martos Gallery”
2012Ehren Clark, 15 Bytes, “The Pure Object,” December, 2012
2009Megan Nesbit, 15 Bytes, “Twenty-four/Seven,” February, 2009
2003Ken Johnson, The New York Times, Art Review, “Random Order,”
June 6, 2003
Marcel Krenz, Flash Art International, New York: Art Fragments from the Big Apple, “Random Order,” July-September 2003
2001Joyce Korotkin, The New York Art World, “Hot & Sticky:
The Painting Center,” Summer 2001, p. 17
Panels and Lectures
2011Art Talks, Snow College, Utah
2002Visiting Artist, Brigham Young University, Utah
Artist Panel, Anne Arundell Comm. College, Maryland, “Concept to Object”
Nominations
2011 Nominee, Catherine Doctorow Prize for Contemporary Painting
Awards
2008Individual Artist Grant, Utah Arts and Museums
Publications
2015“Resistance” written for Opaque Transparency curated by Richard van der Aa.Le Pavé d’Orsay, Paris, France (2016) and Look & Listen, St. Chamas, France (2015).
Collections
Brigham Young University, Utah
City of Mesa, Arizona
Fredericksburg Center for the Creative Arts, Virginia
Utah Museum of Fine Art
Utah Valley University, Utah
Gallerists
A Gallery, Salt Lake City, Utah
Alfa Gallery, Miami, Florida
Gallery MAR, Park City, Utah
Pierogi 2000, Brooklyn, New York