Pat Phillips’ (b. 1987, Lakenheath, England) paintings combine personal and historical imagery into surreal juxtapositions, drawing on his experience living in America to meditate on complex questions of race, class, labor and a militarized culture. Growing up in small-town Louisiana, Phillips found his way to art through painting and photographing boxcars. He embraces this entry point, creating paintings that discuss the Americana subculture, as well as the current social and political threads running through American culture.

Phillips’ works synthesize his roots in graffiti culture with pop iconography and historically charged subject matter. His works often contain references to confederate flags, fences, and guns—all objects that suggest the violent underpinnings of this country and its institutions.

Solo exhibitions include It Was Sunny, but Then It Started to Rain, PPOW, New York, NY (2024); Strange Suburb; M+B, Los Angeles, CA (2023); Consumer Reports, Jeffrey Deitch, New York, NY (2021-22); Untitled (Works on Paper), M+B, Los Angeles, CA (2021); Summer Madness, M+B, Los Angeles, CA (2020); Told You Not to Bring That Ball, Masur Museum of Art, Monroe, LA (2017-18); and SubSuperior, Catinca Tabacaru Gallery, New York, NY (2019). Recent group exhibitions include Inheritance, The Whitney Museum of Art, New York, NY (2023-24); Come One, Come All, Anthony Gallery, Chicago, IL (2024); and Black Like That: Our Lives As Living Praxis, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA (2024). In 2019, Philips curated All For You, Catinca Tabacaru Gallery, New York, NY and alongside Coady Brown, Philips co-curated Routine Malfunction, 1969 Gallery, New York, NY.