Whiting Tennis, Untitled (floral motif), 2025, Oil on canvas, 18 x 24 x 2 in

Whiting Tennis is a celebrated painter whose work explores the intersection of form, color, and abstraction. Drawn to the power of mark-making, Tennis uses painting to explore the subconscious as a source of imagery. Through "automatic drawing"-a spontaneous, intuitive process-he creates sketches that evolve into paintings and sculptures. The resulting works feel like artifacts from an alternate reality where nature and technology have evolved together.

Tennis earned his BFA in Painting & Drawing from the University of Washington in 1984 and has held solo exhibitions at the Museum of Northwest Art (La Conner, WA), Hallie Ford Museum of Art (Salem, OR), and the Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum (Saratoga Springs, NY). His work was included in the 2014 California-Pacific Triennial at Orange County Museum of Art, and he has received significant honors including the 2007 Neddy Artist Fellowship and the 2008 Arlene Schnitzer Prize. Tennis's major works are held in public and private collections such as the Seattle Art Museum, Portland Art Museum, Tacoma Art Museum, Orange County Museum of Art, and Tang Teaching Museum, establishing him as a leading voice in contemporary Northwest painting.