Mickalene Thomas is a Contemporary American artist best known for depictions of African-American women and celebrities through collages of acrylic, enamel, and rhinestones. Often based in photography, Thomas’ practice utilizes both the aesthetics of Western painting and the heavily sexualized blaxploitation films of the 1970s. Through appropriated imagery the artist addresses issues of femininity, race, and beauty alongside personal histories and childhood memories, citing artists such as Carrie Mae Weems and Romare Bearden as early influences. Attend the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn and later received her MFA at the Yale School of Art in 2002.
Additional Artworks
From Van Every/Smith Galleries at Davidson College
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Larry Fink
Spilled Glass and Legs, NYC, Social Context, 1985
Gelatin silver print
19.875 x 15.875 in (50.48 x 40.32 cm)
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Ralph Gibson
Untitled (Painting of Five Men), Paris, 1983
Chromogenic print
20 x 16 in (50.8 x 40.64 cm)
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Nicholas Monro
Igloos, 1971
Screenprint on paper
27.375 x 40 in (69.53 x 101.6 cm)
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John Hoyland
Brown Block on Pink, 1971
Screenprint on paper
40.25 x 28 in (102.24 x 71.12 cm)
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Donald Cortese
Zoo Family, 1970
Etching on paper
18 x 14.875 in (45.72 x 37.78 cm)
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Philippe Halsman
Patrice Munsel, 1950
Gelatin silver print
14 x 11 in (35.56 x 27.94 cm)
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Utagawa 歌川 Kuniyoshi 国芳
Princess Shiranui Fighting Two Bandits as she Prepares to Carry out a Ceremonial Curse, from Mirror of Warriors of Our Country (Honchô musha kagami, 本朝武者鏡), 1855
Woodblock on paper
14.5 x 7.5 in (36.83 x 19.05 cm)
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Anne Noggle
Irina Rakobolskaya 588th/46th
Gelatin silver print
14 x 11 in (35.56 x 27.94 cm)
About the artist
Mickalene Thomas
American
b. 1971