Mickalene Thomas
Mickalene Thomas
b. 1971
Thomas was born in Camden, New Jersey. She holds a BFA from Pratt Institute and received her MFA from Yale University. She has been the subject of major solo exhibitions at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (2016), the Brooklyn Museum (2012–13), and the Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston (2012), among other institutions. She lives and works in Brooklyn.
Thomas works in , , , , and large-scale installations. Combining , political, and pop-cultural references and employing a range of materials, including rhinestones, acrylic, and enamel, her works explore how , race, gender, and are defined and represented in contemporary culture. Specifically engaged with the history of modernism, Thomas has created three new works for Figuring History, each of which focuses on empowered representations of Black women.
Her figures do not lend themselves to passive consumption but are powerful agents who confront us. Material culture plays a central role in her work, and power dynamics shift as Thomas negotiates gender and sexuality through .
Images: MT Headshot — Topical Cream, 2016, Courtesy of Lyndsy Welgos. Le déjeuner sur l’herbe: Les trois femmes noires, 2010, Mickalene Thomas, rhinestones, acrylic, and enamel on wood panel, 120 x 288 x 2 in., The Rachel and Jean-Pierre Lehmann Collection, Courtesy of the artist and Lehmann Maupin, New York and Hong Kong, © Mickalene Thomas. Tamika sur une chaise longue avec Monet, 2012, Mickalene Thomas, rhinestones, acrylic, oil, and enamel on wood panel, 108 x 144 x 2 in., Sydney & Walda Besthoff, Courtesy of the artist and Lehmann Maupin, New York and Hong Kong, © Mickalene Thomas. Resist, 2017, Mickalene Thomas, rhinestones, acrylic, gold leaf, and oil stick on canvas mounted on wood panel, 84 x 108 x 2 in., © Mickalene Thomas.
