Tom Bianchi

Tom Bianchi was born and raised in the suburbs of Chicago. He graduated from the Northwestern University School of Law in 1970 and became a corporate attorney, eventually working for Columbia Pictures in New York. He made paintings and drawing on weekends which came to the attention of Betty Parsons and Carol Dreyfuss. They gave him his first one-man painting show in 1980. Tom quit his job, tore up his law degree and pasted it into a painting. In 1984, he was given his first solo museum exhibition at the Spoleto Festival. After Bianchi’s partner died of AIDS in 1988, he turned his focus to photography, producing Out of the Studio, a vibrant and candid portrayal of gay intimacy. Its success led to producing numerous monographs, including On the Couch, Deep Sex and In Defense of Beauty.