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.
Viewing
collection
Chambers Building
Clear context
Additional Artworks
From Van Every/Smith Galleries at Davidson College
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Katie St. Clair
Tidelines 4, 2022
Acrylic, natural and synthetic dye, hand ground powdered charcoal, aerosol and gesso on canvas
48 x 40 in (121.92 x 101.6 cm)
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Joyce Tenneson
Flame Lilies, 2020
Archival pigment print
22 x 17 in (55.88 x 43.18 cm)
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Joyce Tenneson
Ranunculus, 2020
Archival pigment print
22 x 17 in (55.88 x 43.18 cm)
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Iruka Maria Toro
The World and Her Double, 2016
Acrylic and collage on paper
40 x 53 in (101.6 x 134.62 cm)
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Mickalene Thomas
When Ends Meet (Oprah Winfrey), 2007
Screenprint in colors with hand-applied rhinestones, on 4-ply museum board
20 x 23.875 in (50.8 x 60.64 cm)
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Maggie Taylor
Boat With Snake, 1993
Chromogenic print
17.5 x 14.25 in (44.45 x 36.2 cm)
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Mark Tobey
October, 1971
Color lithograph on paper
18 x 27.375 in (45.72 x 69.53 cm)
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Paul Strand
Man, Tenancingo, Mexico, from "The Mexican Portfolio," Plate # 18, 1933, printed 1967
Photogravure
15.8125 x 12.375 in (40.16 x 31.43 cm)
About the artist
Mickalene Thomas
American
b. 1971