"The women I work with are powerhouses: their prowess is undeniable. I only hope to bring forth their true selves.”
Defiantly tender portraits by a powerhouse of contemporary art
Mickalene Thomas set out to change the face of art history, and that's exactly what she's done. In her loud but tender multimedia portraits, Black femme power, beauty and desire take centre stage. Whether it's the artist herself, her mother, a lover, a friend or a public figure like Michelle Obama, each woman tells her own story. In Thomas' words: "The gaze of my work is unapologetically a Black woman's gaze loving other Black women."¹ This deep sense of adoration and respect comes through in all of her art – not just her portraits but her interiors and photography too. The bright Pop Art-esqu...
Mickalene Thomas set out to change the face of art history, and that's exactly what she's done. In her loud but tender multimedia portraits, Black femme power, beauty and desire take centre stage. Whether it's the artist herself, her mother, a lover, a friend or a public figure like Michelle Obama, each woman tells her own story. In Thomas' words: "The gaze of my work is unapologetically a Black woman's gaze loving other Black women."¹ This deep sense of adoration and respect comes through in all of her art – not just her portraits but her interiors and photography too. The bright Pop Art-esque blend of photography, collage, paint and craft shop materials like rhinestones has a celebratory feel designed to uplift and empower the next generation. "For me, it's all about trying to inspire and make young girls, when they walk into a space like [a museum], feel a sense of themselves. They see that they're represented."
Although Thomas didn't always know she wanted to be an artist, the themes she explores reach back to her early experiences in life. Born in New Jersey in 1971, Thomas grew up in an age of Black Power flanked by mainstream visual culture which lauded women, mainly white women, as objects of desire and beauty. Grappling with her future, she dropped out of school and moved to Portland, where she encountered an exhibition by Carrie Mae Weems. Inspired, Thomas realised that visual art was her calling. It seemed to be the only way to express her own vision of beauty and empowerment. As a Pratt Institute and Yale student in the '90s and '00s, Thomas developed her signature style which launched her career and made her the contemporary art powerhouse she is today. In galleries and museums across the world, her work continues to inspire and represent the many magnificent shades of femme Black power.
Bio
Mickalene Thomas (she/her) was born in 1971 in New Jersey, United States and is now based in Brooklyn.
Did you know?
Initially, Thomas planned to pursue pre-law and theatre arts, but in 1994 seeing Kitchen Table Series by Carrie Mae Weems convinced her to try art school. "It was the first time I saw work by an African-American female artist that reflected myself. It was probably one of the most formidable experiences.”
Accolades
During her career, Thomas has received countless awards including Anonymous Was A Woman Award (2013), Visionary Award, Pioneer Works (2019) and Rema Hort Mann Foundation 25th Anniversary Honouree (2022).
