Thomas Anfield: Sock Monkey Pop Up Exhibition

Vancouver-based artist Thomas Anfield has found a perfect mix of tragicomedy, playfulness, and human truth in a subject he’s painted for over twenty years: the beloved Sock Monkey. In his latest exhibition, Sock Monkey Scenarios, Anfield explores the labyrinthine and tangled conditions of being human through these iconic, anthropomorphic figures.

The paintings invite viewers into carefully choreographed scenes where Sock Monkeys pose singly or in groups, spinning, slumping, or standing nobly as if thinking great thoughts. Sometimes they appear joyful and lighthearted; other times, grotesque or melancholic. Their gestures and relationships mirror our own, evoking both laughter and reflection. “There’s this lovely, tragicomic quality to them,” Anfield says. “But they’re celebratory, too.”

In their theatricality, the Sock Monkeys reveal the complexity of being human and the constant shape-shifting we experience in the Theatre of Life. The works shine light on universal themes of connection, absurdity, and grace under gravity. “I prop them up a little bit, but only just enough that the natural pull of gravity is on them,” says Anfield. “That’s when they read the most honest—because our lives are like that; we get pulled around by the ebbs and flows and the forces that surround us.”

Anfield paints directly from the intricate dioramas he constructs, using vintage Sock Monkeys costumed with repurposed doll clothing. These handcrafted toys were originally made from worn-out work socks, first appeared during the Great Depression, and later gained popularity in the 1950s when the Nelson Knitting Mills in Rockford, Illinois, included instructions for making them with their trademarked Red Heel socks.

A contemporary figurative painter and performance artist, Anfield has exhibited internationally across North America, Europe, Russia, and Africa at venues including, The National Gallery of Senegal, and Salon de Plastica Mexicana. He was co-creator of the company Butoh-A-GO-GO, who were invited by the Moscow Ballet to perform on three different occasions. They were also awarded a full production residency at Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity creating work which then premiered at the Vancouver International Dance Festival. His paintings have been featured in Modern Painters, Elle, Maclean’s, Vancouver Magazine, and Preview Magazine. Anfield is a Canada Council, Inter- Arts grant recipient and a Dance grant recipient.