- Mickalene Thomas
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New York-based artist Mickalene Thomas is known for her elaborate paintings adorned with rhinestones, enamel and colorful acrylics. She received her BFA from Pratt Institute in 2000, and her MFA from Yale University in 2002 and currently lives and works in New York. Her depictions of African American women explore notions of black female celebrity and identity while romanticizing ideas of femininity and power. Reminiscent of 70s style Blaxploitation, the subjects in Thomas' paintings radiate sexuality. Women in provocative poses sprawl across the picture plane and are surrounded by kitschy decorative patterns inspired by her childhood.[1] Her portrait of Michelle Obama was the first individual portrait done of the First Lady and was exhibited in the National Portrait Gallery's Americans Now show.[2]
Mickalene Thomas has had exhibitions at Santa Barbara Contemporary Arts Forum, CA; Museum of Contemporary Art in Detroit; The Renaissance Society in Chicago; Dumbo Arts Center in Brooklyn Studio Museum in Harlem in New York; and P.S.1/MoMA in Long Island City, NY. Mickalene Thomas was an artist in residence at Yale/Norfolk and The Studio Museum in Harlem. In 2011 She will be the artist in residence at The Versailles Foundation Munn Artists Program in Giverny, France. In 2010 She completed a special project for the Museum of Modern Art entitled "Le Dejeuner Sur l'Herbe: Les Trois Femmes Noires", which was exhibited in the Modern Window of the museum and the lobby of MoMA PS1 as part of the On-Site series.[3]
Images
References
- ^ Dailey, Meghan, "In the Studio: Mickalene Thomas", Art + Auction, March 2009.
- ^ Capps, Kriston. 1st First Lady Portrait in D.C.. NBC Washington. August 22, 2010
- ^ Laster, Paul. A Window on Art. The New York Observer. April 21, 2010.
External links
Categories:- American painters
- African American artists
- Contemporary painters
- Living people
- Women painters
- African American women
- American artist stubs
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