Mickalene Thomas

Artist biography:

Born: 1971, New Jersey

Mickalene Thomas received her BFA in painting at the Pratt Institute and her MFA from Yale University. She has participated in residencies at both the Studio Museum in Harlem (2003) and the Versailles Munn Artist Program at Giverny, in France (2010). Thomas is best-known for her elaborate paintings embellished with rhinestones, enamel and colorful acrylics. Her depictions of African-American women explore notions of black female celebrity and identity and romanticize ideas of femininity and power.

She has exhibited widely in both solo and group exhibitions including 'Americans Now' at the National Portrait Gallery, Washington DC. (2010); 'The Global Africa Project' at the Museum of Arts and Design, New York (2010); and 'The Way We Are Now: Selections from the 21st Century Collection,' at the Cincinnati Art Museum, Cincinnati, Ohio (2011). Thomas will participate in the group exhibition 'Blacks in Black and White' at the Brand New Gallery, Milan, Italy in 2012. Her recent solo exhibitions include 'Something You Can Feel' at La Conservera Contemporary Art Space, Ceuti, Spain (2009); 'Put a Little Sugar in My Bowl' at Susanne Vielmetter Projects, Los Angeles, California (2010); and 'Mama Bush: One of a Kind Two' at the Hara Museum, Tokyo, Japan (2011).

Her work is represented in many important museum collections, including MoMA, the Brooklyn Museum, the Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art, Overland Park, Kansas, The Rubell Family Collection, Miami, Florida and the National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC.

Mickalene Thomas lives and works in Brooklyn.