Mickalene Thomas was born in 1971 in Camden NJ. She’s a contemporary African American artist now based in Brooklyn New York who likes to examine how Western art has treated women and beauty. She celebrates black femininity and sexuality with her artwork – something that has been overlooked (or neglected).
below: Close examination of ‘I Learned the Hard Way’, 2010. Embellished with rhinestones.
below: Part of ‘Qusuquzah Une Tres Belle Negresse’, 2012 showing detail in the blue veil that runs diagonally across her face.
below: ‘Living Room Tableaux’ (the seats and carpets) with ‘Los Angelitos Negros’ 2016 in the background. The latter consists of videos playing on four monitors arranged horizontally.
below: Also part of ‘Living Room Tableaux’ but from a different angle. The painting on the wall is ‘Blues’, 2016 which was influenced by the movie “The Color Purple”. Whoopi Goldberg (in the painting) was one of the characters in this movie which was based on the novel of the same name written by Alice Walker. Based in rural Georgia in the early 1900’s, it is the story of Celie Harris, a young black woman and the struggles that she faces.
below: ‘Living Room Installation’. This one is different from the one above – in a different room at the AGO.
below: Part of “Portrait of Kalena”, 2017. The geometric face is a direct reference to the style used by Picasso in some of his work. Picasso was inspired by the work of African artists so here Thomas is re-appropriating Picasso’s geometric and mask-like shapes.
The exhibit at the AGO ends on 24th March
as I walk Toronto 