My current work originates from my continued interest in men - especially their personas, bodies, desires, tensions, and intimacy. My approach includes juxtaposing the figures, both current and from my archives, with other elements to stimulate new narratives. These images are matched, often by chance, to further explore relationships that transcend time and space.
My early work began with photographs of performance and dance artists in Philadelphia. It moved into studio work and was heavily influenced by the AIDS epidemic. In place of a documentary approach, I leaned on my film and theatre training to create staged spaces. Images were improvised in collaboration with friends - some of whom are wrapped, masked, and veiled. Influenced by George Platt Lynes and inspired by film noir, these photographs were made while the veil of AIDS hung heavy over the gay community.
Thomas Moore is currently based in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware after many years in Philadelphia. In addition to his art practice, he has taught photography at the University of the Arts, curated photography exhibits, and fundraised for several non-profit organizations. He has served on the boards of AIDS Delaware, Tilt Institute for the Contemporary Image, The Photo Review, and The Print Center.
Solo exhibitions include Moore College of Art, Level 3 Gallery, Book Trader Gallery in Philadelphia, PA, Delaware Theatre Company in Wilmington, DE, and The Lawrenceville School in Lawrenceville, NJ.
Selected Group exhibitions include The Print Center, Philadelphia, PA; University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA; Silver Eye Center for Photography, Pittsburgh, PA; Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA; Port of History Museum, Philadelphia, PA, University of the Arts, Philadelphia, PA, Santa Bannon Fine Art, Bethlehem, PA, Carspecken-Scott Gallery, Wilmington, DE, and Paul Cava Gallery, Philadelphia, PA.
Collections include the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Lehigh University, the State Museum of Pennsylvania, and Millersville University.
He received a BFA in Communications and Theatre at Temple University in 1977, and an MFA in Photography at the University of Delaware in 1989.
1989
MFA Photography, University of Delaware, Newark, DE
1977
BA Communications and Theatre, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA
2015-2018
Board Member, Tilt Institute for the Contemporary Image, Philadelphia, PA
2012-2015
Board Member, The Print Center, Philadelphia, PA
2009-2012
Board Member, The Photo Review, Langhorne, PA
2009-2011
Board Member, AIDS Delaware, Wilmington, DE
1990-1995
Senior Lecturer, University of the Arts, Philadelphia, PA
1987-1990
Director, Book Trader Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
Conklin, Jo-Ann The Collection of Carlton Willers, exhibition catalog, The University of Iowa Art Museum, 1993.
Coleman, A.D. Metro, Letter from Philadelphia/NewYork No. 18, November 1990.
Coleman, A.D. Photo Review, Photography In and Around Philadelphia, Fall, 1990.
Seidel, Miriam, An Exhibition of Contrasts, Philadelphia Inquirer, June 8, 1990.
McGreevy, Linda, Portfolio Magazine, Possible Reality, February 7, 1990.
McGreevy, Exhibition catalog, Old Dominion University Press, 1990.
Crohn, Jennifer, Flesh Fish & Photos, Welcomat, January 10, 1990.
Scott, William, Staged Portraits, Philadelphia Inquirer, May 17, 1989.
Perloff, Stephen, The Delaware Portfolio, The Photo Review, Spring, 1988.
Donohue, Victoria Sixteen Artists Showcase Philadelphia, The Philadelphia Inquirer, 8/12, 1988.
River to River, Portfolio: Thomas Moore, November, 1987.
Curtis, Deborah, Introduction to Visual Literacy, Prentice-Hall, 1986.
Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, PA
The State Museum of Pennsylvania, Harrisburg, PA
Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA
Millersville University, Millersville, PA
2023
Tea Dance 1980, Biello Martin Studio, Philadelphia, PA
1995
Apollonian Re-Views, The Lawrenceville School, Lawrenceville, NJ
1993
Apollonian Re-Views, Delaware Theatre Company, Wilmington, DE
1991
Recent Work, Moore College of Art, Philadelphia, PA
1989
Staged Portraits, Book Trader Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
2018
Members Exhibit, Philadelphia Photo Arts Center, Philadelphia, PA
Innovative Means Photography from the Collection, The State Museum of Pennsylvania, Harrisburg, PA
2014
Philadelphia Photographers: 1975-1985, Santa Bannon Fine Art Gallery, Bethlehem, PA
2010
Daydream Nation, The Philadelphia Photo Arts Center, Philadelphia, PA
1994
Faculty Exhibit, University of the Arts, Philadelphia, PA
Group Exhibit, Carspecken-Scott Gallery, Wilmington, DE
1993
Photography Twelve, Perkins Center for the Arts, Moorestown, NJ
Photographs from the Collection of Carlton Willers, University of Iowa Art Museum, Iowa City, IA
Fronts + Backs, Paul Cava Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
Group Exhibit, Silver Eye Center for Photography, Pittsburgh, PA
1992
Group Exhibit, Trenton State College Gallery, Trenton, NJ
Group Exhibit, Puchong Gallery, New York, NY
Group Exhibit, Neikrug Gallery, New York, NY
Faculty Exhibit, University of the Arts, Philadelphia, PA
Group Exhibit, Kampo Cultural Center, New York, NY
Group Exhibit, Zone One Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
1990
Young Americans, F/Stop Gallery, Bath, U.K.
Imprints, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA
Imprints, The Print Center, Philadelphia, PA
Faculty Exhibit, University of the Arts, Philadelphia, PA
Dark Light, Susan Isaacs Gallery, Wilmington, DE
Group Exhibit, Zone One Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
1988
Fantasy, Illusion and Grotesque, Sykes Gallery, Millersville University, Millersville, PA
Group Exhibit, Port of History Museum, Philadelphia, PA
Persona, Level Three Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
Art Fighting AIDS, Port of History Museum, Philadelphia, PA
63rd Annual Competition, The Print Center, Philadelphia, PA
1987
Group Exhibit, Janvier Gallery, University of Delaware, Newark, DE
Selected Photographs, The Print Center, Philadelphia, PA
Photography Six, Perkins Center for the Arts, Moorestown, NJ
1986
Group Exhibit, Nexus Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
Fine Art Photography 86, North Museum, Franklin & Marshall College, Lancaster, PA
62nd Annual Competition, The Print Center, Philadelphia, PA
1984
Woo World Performance Views, Morris Gallery, The Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA
1982
Woo World Performance Views, Marion Locks Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
1980
Facing the Mask, University Gallery, University of Delaware, Newark, DE
