Mickalene Thomas
Lena Blanket, 2013
Produced in collaboration with Artware Editions and Pendleton Mills, the female model with …
In her texturally rich paintings, Mickalene Thomas examines the popular characterization of black female identity, celebrity, and sexuality. Crafted with acrylic, rhinestones, and enamel, the vibrant interwoven patterns adorning Thomas’ work are inspired by her childhood in the 1970s. Thomas chooses to depict powerful women such as her mother, celebrities, and iconic art-historical figures. In a 2010 photograph entitled Le déjeuner sur l’herbe: Le Trois Femme Noires (2010), Thomas re-stages Édouard Manet’s famous image, substituting his painted figures for provocatively dressed black women. Such works demonstrate Thomas’s sustained interest in visualizing the black woman’s relationship both to art history and to contemporary culture at large.
Produced in collaboration with Artware Editions and Pendleton Mills, the female model with intricate braiding and other bold details present a strong, graphic image. The reverse side of the blanket shows the same design in negative giving the blanket two distinct looks.
In her texturally rich paintings, Mickalene Thomas examines the popular characterization of black female identity, celebrity, and sexuality. Crafted with acrylic, rhinestones, and enamel, the vibrant interwoven patterns adorning Thomas’ work are inspired by her childhood in the 1970s. Thomas chooses to depict powerful women such as her mother, celebrities, and iconic art-historical figures. In a 2010 photograph entitled Le déjeuner sur l’herbe: Le Trois Femme Noires (2010), Thomas re-stages Édouard Manet’s famous image, substituting his painted figures for provocatively dressed black women. Such works demonstrate Thomas’s sustained interest in visualizing the black woman’s relationship both to art history and to contemporary culture at large.
