Patrick Earl Hammie facts for kids

Patrick Earl Hammie (born November 23, 1981) is an American artist and teacher. He is famous for his big paintings of people and stories. Hammie's art uses lots of movement, bright colors, and feelings. He looks at art history and culture to explore ideas about who we are, what it means to be a man, beauty, and how people connect. Hammie lives in Champaign. He teaches as an Associate Professor at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

Early Life and Learning

Hammie was born in New Haven, Connecticut. He grew up in West Haven. His mother, Carolyn, was a switchboard operator. His father, Ervin Hammie Jr., was a Vietnam War veteran and foreman.

As a child, Hammie learned martial arts. He was even ranked nationally in sports karate. He became interested in art by drawing characters from comic books and TV shows. His parents supported both his karate and his drawing. They encouraged him to draw still life pictures and landscapes too.

When he was nine, Hammie moved with his parents to Hartsville, South Carolina. His parents separated when he was thirteen. He moved back to Connecticut with his father. There, he went to West Haven High School. He played football and sang in the choir. Hammie's father passed away in 1999, soon after Hammie finished high school.

After high school, Hammie went to Coker College. He studied art and earned his bachelor's degree in 2004. He worked as a portrait painter for two years. Then, he went back to school at the University of Connecticut. He earned his master's degree in fine arts in 2008.

Art Career

Patrick Earl Hammie's art journey really started in 2007. He thought about how his father's death had affected him. Hammie said he had become very quiet about his feelings. This made him wonder why men sometimes hide their emotions. He also thought about how art shows these traits.

This thinking inspired Hammie. He began to paint himself in a new way. He showed his own body as it was, not as a perfect hero. This was different from the strong, ideal figures in old master paintings.

Imperfect Colossi Series

In his 2007 painting, Protuberance, Hammie showed himself pulling at his skin. This painting helped start his first big project, Imperfect Colossi. This series of paintings and drawings shows Hammie trying to change himself. It suggests that being "ideal" is a journey, not a final goal.

On April 12, 2008, Hammie first showed parts of Imperfect Colossi. This was at the William Benton Museum of Art. On May 20, he showed more works at Kathleen Cullen Gallery in New York City. In May, he won an award called the Alice C. Cole ‘42 Fellowship. He also got a 12-month residency at Wellesley College. This helped him create new art for an exhibition.

Equivalent Exchange Series

Starting in December 2008, Hammie painted many self-portraits. He often showed himself sitting on stools or wobbly stands. He was inspired by pictures of America's first black president standing strongly at a podium. He also thought about how this connected to the history of enslaved black people being sold.

The painting Recognition from 2009 shows a large man sitting on a stool. He is lit from behind and turns to look at the viewer. A shadow covers his face. Hammie shows a person dealing with the history of black male bodies. The figure is about to change from being seen as an object to being seen as a person.

On April 1, 2009, Hammie showed his Equivalent Exchange project. This was his first solo art show at the Jewett Art Gallery at Wellesley College. On August 16, 2009, Hammie became a teacher at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

On January 11, 2010, Hammie showed art from both Imperfect Colossi and Equivalent Exchange. This was a solo exhibition at Stewart Center Gallery at Purdue University.

John Michael Kohler Art Center Work

In July 2011, Hammie took a break from his studio. He joined an arts/industry program at the John Michael Kohler Arts Center. For three months, Hammie used factory materials and tools at the Kohler Company. He made drawings, casts, and sculptures of calla lilies and his own body.

Significant Other Series

Hammie returned to his studio in September 2011. He started making paintings that question old ideas about people who have been overlooked in art. He wanted to change how we understand these bodies. The friendly atmosphere at Kohler encouraged him. Hammie worked with assistants and art experts on this project. He called it a "conceptual sequel to Imperfect Colossi."

Hammie explained that traditional art often showed women and people of color in certain ways. Also, minority groups were often left out of telling their own stories. This shaped his new art.

Significant Other, Hammie's third project, opened on July 26, 2013. It showed selected works at Greymatter Gallery in Milwaukee. His earlier project showed just one male figure. But Significant Other shows male and female figures interacting physically.

Paintings like Aureole from 2013 show a strong woman turning a man's body. She reveals his bareness and looks closely at him. Hammie shows the woman as a powerful figure. He frees the man from having to act "macho." These moments mix traditional masculine and feminine strengths. The woman's actions show power, while the man's body is shown in a vulnerable way.

On February 7, 2014, Hammie showed art from Significant Other. This was a solo exhibition at Porter Butts Gallery at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. On March 22, Hammie's Bust of an American Man [early 21st century] was shown. It was part of the John Michael Kohler Arts Center's 40th anniversary show. This show featured works by artists who had been in their residency program.

On August 16, 2015, Hammie became an Associate Professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. On February 25, 2016, Hammie showed more art from Significant Other. This was a solo exhibition at Kruger Gallery in Chicago.

Other Works

One of Hammie's portraits was shown in an exhibition called What's Inside Her Never Dies... A Black Woman's Legacy. This was at Yeleen Gallery for their Art Basel Miami event in January 2016.

Hammie's Artistic Style

Hammie's use of size, feelings, and emotional subjects reminds people of art from the Baroque and Romantic periods. His style has been compared to the famous painter Rubens. Hammie's art often explores the history of painting. He uses allegory (stories with hidden meanings) to question power structures. He also examines racism and sexism. He looks at how male artists have shown the human body in art.

Since 2009, Hammie has focused on traditional figurative painting. He studies the ways of Western art in terms of pictures, techniques, and stories. He creates portraits that challenge old ideas. He also explores important parts of gender and race today.

Hammie mostly works in his studio. He paints from real life and from photographs. His subjects are often himself and people he knows. These include friends, family, and other artists. Music is very important to his creative process. He listens to groups like Bjork, Oddisee, and Daft Punk while he works.

Awards and Recognition

Hammie has won many awards and grants. These include prizes from the Alliance of Artists Communities with the Joyce Foundation, Indianapolis Art Center, Tanne Foundation, University of Illinois, Wellesley College, and Zhou B Art Center.

Art Collections

Hammie's art is kept in permanent collections. These include places like Del Mar College, John Michael Kohler Art Center, JPMorgan Chase Art Collection, Kohler Company, Kinsey Institute at Indiana University, and the William Benton Museum of Art.

Artistic Influences

Hammie has often talked about the artists who have inspired him. He mentions Francis Bacon, Luís Caballero, Caravaggio, Renée Cox, Marlene Dumas, Lucian Freud, Leon Golub, Jacob Lawrence, Robert Mapplethorpe, and Kerry James Marshall as some of his favorite artists.