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CORVALLIS, Ore. - Hank Willis Thomas, a photo conceptual artist who works primarily with themes related to identity, history and popular culture, will speak April 19 at Oregon State University.

The talk, "Divided We Fall," will be at 6:30 p.m. in Construction & Engineering Hall at The LaSells Stewart Center, 875 S.W. 26^th St., Corvallis. A reception with the artist will be held at 5:30 p.m. in the Myrtle Tree Alcove. The reception and talk are free and open to the public.

Thomas also will be in residence on campus April 18-19 and will spend time visiting art classes and reviewing and critiquing student art work. His visit and lecture are part of the School of Arts & Communication's Visiting Artists and Scholars Lecture Series.

Thomas has exhibited throughout the U.S. and abroad, including at The International Center of Photography, The Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, Studio Museum in Harlem, and the Cleveland Museum of Art.

His monograph, "Pitch Blackness," was published by Aperture. His work is in numerous public collections, including The Museum of Modern Art New York, The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, The Whitney Museum of American Art, the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., and more.

In 2015, Thomas co-founded "For Freedoms," the first artist-run super PAC. He is currently represented by Jack Shainman Gallery in New York City and Goodman Gallery in South Africa.

Thomas received the BFA in photography and Africana studies from New York University and the MFA/MA in photography and visual criticism from the California College of Arts.

The Visiting Artists and Scholars Lecture series brings world-renowned artists and scholars to the OSU campus to interact with students in the art department so they can learn what is required of a professional artist or scholar. For more information, visit http://bit.ly/2dVv5kW and http://www.hankwillisthomas.com/