Mickalene Thomas: Mentors, Muses, and Celebrities

February 9 – May 20, 2017

Artist Mickalene Thomas (b. 1971) is perhaps best known for her large-scale elaborate paintings that are adorned with rhinestones, enamel, and colorful acrylics. Combining art historical, political, and pop cultural references she introduces a complex vision of what it means to be a woman and expands common definitions of beauty. Mickalene Thomas: Mentors, Muses, and Celebrities, an exhibition featuring photographs, film, and video, is a richly textured, and moving portrait of the multiplicities of womanhood that builds upon the artist’s ongoing reconsideration of black female identity. Mickalene Thomas: Mentors, Muses, and Celebrities is organized by the Aspen Art Museum.

Installation view of Mickalene Thomas: Mentors, Muses, and Celebrities at the Spelman College Museum of a Fine Art. Photography: James Michael Jensen.

Mickalene Thomas: Mentors, Muses, and Celebrities is made possible with support by