Mickalene Thomas: Aesthetic Alchemy and the Radiant Revelations of Identity

My first exposure to Mickalene Thomas was during a visit to the Pop Masters Exhibition on the Gold Coast, Australia. Standing in a room surrounded by thought-provoking pop art, I turned a corner and was arrested by something so effortlessly provocative: Mickalene Thomas's "I've Got It Bad, and That ain't Good."

Mickalene Thomas b. 1971 New Jersey, USA, 'l've Got it Bad and That Ain't Good' from the 'She Works Hard for the Money Pin Up' series 2006 rhinestones, synthetic polymer paint and enamel on panel, Mugrabi Collection, New York.

Nothing felt forced or contrived about the panel, but it carried several layers of meaning within it. It challenged the viewer to stop and look and then sit with the discomfort of looking at this woman whose eyes were locked on yours. At the same time though, Thomas turns the viewer into a voyeur when you can't help but notice the subjects exposed breast. It is such a strong yet subtle image, making one walk away deep in thought, trying to decide how to feel.

The subject of "I've Got It Bad, and That ain't Good" has an inscrutable expression in her eyes. She's staring right at you, but she doesn't seem unfriendly. However, as I looked at her I couldn't tell if she was sad, happy, or simply resigned to being looked at. There's something intimate about viewing a slightly disrobed figure, and that uninvited intimacy seems to create a vulnerability within the viewer.

Thomas's art deals with subjects of race, gender and sexuality. However, her art seems to whisper truths where other artists have resorted to shouting. I think there is a place for both styles, but I am drawn to the quiet restraint of Thomas' art. I think to me that is her particular artistic genius. She draws you in with the aesthetic beauty and textural depth of her artwork, and you walk away, ruminating about the spaces we are permitted to inhabit and how we are permitted to exist within those spaces.

Allow me to share a few facts about this impressive artist. Thomas completed her undergraduate studies at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York, where she earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) degree. Later, she pursued her graduate education at the Yale University School of Art and obtained a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree. These academic experiences played a crucial role in shaping her artistic style, techniques, and conceptual approach.

She later went on to complete her undergraduate studies at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York, earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) degree before completing a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree at Yale University School of Art. She has completed 'artist in residency' programs across Europe and lists her artistic influences as the 19th century Hudson River School, Edouard Manet, Alice Neel, Romare Bearden, and Blaxploitation cinema from the '70s. (If you only click on one link, do yourself the favour of reading about the history of Blaxploitation cinema, it's fascinating.)

There is a playfulness about Thomas' art. She uses traditionally unserious materials such as sequins, rhinestones, and glitter. She creates whole rooms so that the viewer can be transported to a different time and place. She enjoys the immediacy of photography as a medium but is equally invested in creating a hand-woven rug which takes 6 months to complete. In one of her more recent exhibitions, she explored collage as a medium. I can't speak for others, but my last exposure to collage was in primary school. Thomas, however, elevates these techniques so that there is no denying the genius at play. She turns the whimsical into high-art.

In 2007 she created a double portrait of Oprah Winfrey and Condoleeza Rice. When Thomas talks about these portraits, she explains how the duality of these two high-profile black women is what drew her to create portraits of them. They were polar opposites who represented a particular Black woman in power, however, the way the public received them was completely different. The series was called 'When Ends Meet' named for Thomas's desire to represent the idea of these two seemingly contrasting figures coming together as black women.

For Winfrey, Thomas used her characteristic rhinestones which highlighted the mogul's smile and her ability to connect with others.

Mickalene Thomas, 2007-08, When Ends Meet —Oprah Winfrey, Screenprint with hand applied rhinestones on 4-ply board, 71.7cm x 81.7cm, National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian

Her depiction of Rice showed her as a focused, determined thinker, the subtle, hard gleam of the rhinestones suggesting the intensity of her subject.

Mickalene Thomas, 2007-08, When Ends Meet —Condoleeza Rice, Screenprint with hand applied rhinestones on 4-ply board, 81cm x 71cm, National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian

Both Rice and Winfrey did amazing things and represented a positivity for many young women and girls , especially young black women who wanted to enter into politics or the media. Seeing Rice and Winfrey in these fields was powerful and

Thomas's art was a celebration of these two forces.

Mickalene Thomas, 2019, "Rachel Come to me", Hand-knotted, Tibetan weave, 255,000 knots/ sqm, 269.2 x 210.8 cm, Henzel Studio

When you look at Rachel Come to Me (above), you can see Thomas's adaptation of one of her a photo drawing collages. She used this collage to create an intricate hand-knotted rug (255,000 knots/sqm). In a sense, Rachel Come to Me is a harmonization of elements she had previously employed in her immersive installations. These installations often incorporated textiles, wallpaper, furniture, and decorative objects which were evocative of her formative 1970s domestic aesthetic.

Mickalene Thomas’s 2013, “Better Days” installation, which ran in conjunction with the Art Basel fair, Absolut Art Bureau, Art Basel, Switzerland

In 2013, one of Thomas's first significant works was a three-dimensional environment created for the Art Basel fair in Switzerland. The room she created for the fair seemed frozen in time, with linoleum floors, wood panel walls, lava lamps, and hits by Donna Summers and Aretha Franklin playing around the clock. Thomas said of this space that it was a tribute to the parties, plays, and fashion shows her mother and friends would host to raise money to fight sickle cell anemia —a disease that runs in her family.

During Thomas' teenage years, she and her mother had a very intimate but also strained relationship. This strain she attributes to her parent's addiction to drugs and, as Thomas also explains, her own journey towards discovering her sexuality. In 2009 Thomas documented this time in her life with the short film Happy Birthday to a Beautiful Woman: A Portrait of My Mother.

Mickalene Thomas, 2009, "Dim all the lights" rhinestone, acrylic, and enamel on panel, 182.9 x 182.9cm, Art Basel, Switzerland —portrait of Mickalene Thomas' mother Sandra 'Mama' Bush

Mickalene Thomas, A Conversation with Mickalene Thomas, George Eastman Museum

In her 2016 book Muse, Thomas speaks of her four muses. Maya, an ex-girlfriend; Racquel Chevremont, her previous life and work partner; and Sandra ‘Mama’ Bush, Thomas’s late mother, who was likewise a successful model before changing careers to work as a special services administrator in a New Jersey public school.

Mickalene Thomas, 2005, "Quanikah Goes Up", 31"x 48",self-portrait of the artist's alter-ego

Thomas' fourth muse is none other than herself. In the images above and below you can see two of Thomas's self-portraits which she created at the beginning of her artistic journey. These self-portraits lead to her highly acclaimed performance art piece at Yale. It was during this time that she created the alter ego Quanikah, a persona which reflected her urban background. However, over time she felt that too much narcissism was creeping into her work and so she 'took herself' out of her work.

Mickalene Thomas, 2006, Remember me, Chromogenic print, 99.9 × 125.4 cm, Yale University Art Gallery

In a recent episode of And Just like That, Thomas' artwork was included amongst those of other prominent black artists in a scene with Lisa Todd Wexley, a character who is a highly successful documentary producer, black woman and art collector. The art for the episode was curated by Rachel Chevremont and exposed audiences to a modern image of what black excellence and success looks like. A home filled with valuable art by black artists, owned by a black power couple.

Mickalene Thomas, 2018, Raquel with Les Trois Femmes, 48 x 60 inch chromogenic print, Yancey Richardson Gallery

When interviewed by Whoopi Goldberg, Thomas was asked what her notion of beauty is: "I perceive beauty in a myriad of ways, and I think it has to do with experience." Thomas describes beauty as how one sees oneself, not allowing obstacles to prevent you from living your truth. She describes beauty as perseverance, resilience in a person, something that exudes from the inside out.