Jared Thorne is celebrated for creating conceptually engaging work that reflects upon themes of social class, identity and race. In Case Studies, he approaches these subjects through an examination of the personal bookcase, revealing glimpses into an individual's inner world and the external persona they choose to project. In the exhibition’s nine large-scale photographs, bookcases appear as intimate studies, their shelves lined with unexpected pairings of beloved novels, canonical works, and instructional texts, set alongside snapshots, heirlooms, and keepsakes. Each configuration conveys a distinctive sensibility, offering clues to the life and outlook of the person who assembled it. Part of the photos’ allure lies in their detective-like quality, hinted at by the show’s title, Case Studies, which evokes both careful analysis and the unraveling of a mystery.

In Book Case 1, multiple volumes with simple titles—Cacti, Trees, Birds, and Cats—are stacked horizontally on top of the case. Surrounding them are natural specimens: the trophy mount of an antelope, the shell of an enormous horseshoe crab, and a taxidermied peacock. Is this the library of a natural scientist or an outdoor enthusiast, or—as closer inspection may suggest—a display assembled to project such an identity? The question remains whether we are seeing a library shaped organically by the owner’s interests or a carefully curated display designed to influence how that individual is perceived. In a world where social media accounts are strategically crafted to promote a desired image, the bookcases in Thorne's photos feel like their analog predecessor. Of his work, Thorne writes, “The bookshelf becomes both mirror and performance: a reflection of private preoccupations and a public declaration of taste.”

Jared Thorne is a photographer based in Columbus, Ohio. He holds a BA in English Literature from Dartmouth College (2003). Following studies at the San Francisco Art Institute, he completed his MFA at Columbia University in 2010. Thorne’s photography has been exhibited widely at national and international venues. Recent solo exhibitions include 26 Planned Parenthoods, Contemporary Art Matters, Columbus, OH; Black Palimpsest: Jared Thorne, Ross Art Museum at Ohio Wesleyan University; Excerpts, Wittenberg University, Ann Miller Gallery, Springfield, OH; and Everyday Contains All of History, University of Oklahoma, Lightwell Gallery, Norman, OK. Additionally his work has been presented in many group exhibitions, including DUST: The Plates of Present, Centre Pompidou, Paris, France; Good Naked: Go For Broke, Brooklyn, NY; and Greater Columbus Arts Council Visual Arts Awards Exhibition, Columbus Museum of Art, Columbus, OH, among others. In 2016 Thorne was the recipient of the Gordon Institute for Performing and Creative Arts Fellowship at the University of Cape Town and was awarded an artist residency at the Woodstock A.I.R. Program. In 2018, he received a Greater Columbus Arts Council Individual Artist Award, and in 2025 he was awarded the Aminah Robinson Fellowship Residency, also from the Greater Columbus Arts Council. He has held teaching positions at Stellenbosch Academy, the University of Cape Town, and City Varsity in South Africa. He is currently an Associate Professor of Art at The Ohio State University.