Patrick Earl Hammie is an interdisciplinary artist and educator whose work explores the complexities of the Black experience through bold portraiture and storytelling. By examining the intersections of race, gender, and history, Hammie invites reflection on the emotional and psychological dimensions of Black identity. His art celebrates resilience, cultural strength, and the enduring role of familyhood, while confronting the struggles shaped by racial and gender inequalities. Hammie’s work challenges traditional narratives, offering fresh, nuanced perspectives that engage viewers in a dynamic conversation about the past, present, and future of Black life in American art and society.
Hammie’s artwork is included in several prestigious collections, including the David C. Driskell Center, the John Michael Kohler Art Center, and the JPMorgan Chase Art Collection. His work has been showcased internationally, with exhibitions in Germany, India, South Africa, and across the United States. Notable venues include the California African American Museum, The Drawing Center, the John Michael Kohler Arts Center, Madlozi Contemporary Art, the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, Kunstwerk Carlshütte, Bo Bartlett Center, and the Zhou B. Art Center.
He is the inaugural recipient of the Alice C. Cole ’42 Fellowship from Wellesley College and has been as an artist-in-residence at the John Michael Kohler Art Center. Hammie’s work has been supported by a variety of fellowships and grants from organizations such as the National Science Foundation, the Mellon Foundation, the Joyce Foundation, Midwestern Voices and Visions, the Puffin Foundation, and the Tanne Foundation. He has also received support from the states of Illinois and Connecticut, as well as from numerous private foundations.
Born in New Haven, Connecticut, Hammie holds a BA from Coker University and an MFA from the University of Connecticut. He teaches studio art at all levels and has co-taught interdisciplinary seminars spanning the humanities and physics. Hammie currently serves as the James Avery Professor and Chair of Studio Art at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he is also the inaugural Director’s Fellow in the School of Art & Design with affiliation with the Department of African American Studies.