Kiko Thomas (he/him) is an artist born in Houston, Texas and based in Los Angeles, where he has lived for more than 17 years. He recently graduated with his Bachelors in Studio Art with Honors from the University of California San Diego (UCSD). As a senior, he was a part of two major exhibits in the Kamil Gallery at UCSD, both of which he curated — the 2022 Senior Show and the 2022 Studio Honors exhibit. Initially inspired by the Houston-based artist John Biggers, Kiko is a multidisciplinary artist creating painting, drawing, sculpture, and media. He is especially interested in the history of the disappearance of civilizations through colonization, and the present day challenges they have caused. Kiko is the Mellon Undergraduate Curatorial Fellow in the Rifkind Center for German Expressionist Studies at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art studying works on paper with curatorial mentors Tim Benson and Erin Maynes. He is curating an upcoming exhibit titled Re-examining the Grotesque in Expressionism, based on selected artwork from the permanent collection. Kiko has previously curated exhibitions at two different alternative spaces: Mestizo Gallery in Houston, TX and Center of Music and Art (COMA) in Los Angeles, CA. He is interested in continuing his studio art education at the graduate level and curating either in a gallery, non-profit, or museum setting.