Thomas Houseago

Houseago grew up in Leeds in West Yorkshire, where his mother was a teacher.^[2] He did his foundation year at Jacob Kramer College in Leeds, and in 1991 went to Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design in London.^[3][4][5] He then studied at De Ateliers in Amsterdam, where he came into contact with figurative artists such as Marlene Dumas, Thomas Schütte and Luc Tuymans.^[4] He lived for eight years in Brussels before moving to Los Angeles in 2003.^[4][6][5] Houseago held his first solo exhibition, titled Serpent (2009), in the United States at David Kordansky Gallery in Los Angeles, which was also the gallery's inaugural show.^[7] In the Frogtown district of Los Angeles, his studio complex occupies four single-story industrial buildings along the Los Angeles River.^[8]

Donald and Mera Rubell, art collectors from Miami, bought several of his works in 2006.^[6] His large plaster Baby was included in the Whitney Biennial in 2010,^[3] and in 2011 L'Homme Pressé, a tall bronze figure of a walking man, was installed in front of Palazzo Grassi on the Grand Canal in Venice during the Biennale.^[9][10]

In 2022, he collaborated with Brad Pitt and Nick Cave for an exhibit at the Sara Hildén Art Museum in Tampere, Finland entitled We.^[11]

Houseago is represented by Xavier Hufkens Gallery, Blum, Gagosian Gallery, and Hauser & Wirth.^[12] Early in his career, Houseago began a relationship with Xavier Hufkens Gallery in Brussels. He later began showing with Michael Werner Gallery in New York.^[13] He was previously represented by David Kordansky in Los Angeles.^[14][15][16]

During his time at De Ateliers, Houseago met the American painter Amy Bessone with whom he lived until 2013.^{[citation needed]}