FILTER RESULTS
Portrait of Qusuquzah #6
201548 x 36 in. (121.9 x 91.4 cm)
Mickalene Thomas
United States
Object Type:
Painting
Medium and Support:
Acrylic, enamel, oil and rhinestones on wood panel
Credit Line:
Marion Stratton Gould Fund
Accession Number:
2015.1
Location: Currently on view
New-York-based artist Mickalene Thomas is best known for her elaborate paintings composed of rhinestones, acrylic, and oil enamel. Her work introduces a complex vision of what it means to be a woman and expands common definitions of beauty.
Thomas’s paintings are based on photographic portraits of models whose qualities allow her to articulate and explore questions of beauty, power, sexuality, and femininity.
"I tend to work with the same models. A lot of them are friends.…So it’s women I work with in proximity to and whose energy I enjoy, and they just have a certain charisma that I’m drawn to. Especially Qusuquzah. There’s something about her. She brings something powerful to the image that amazes me through her gaze. I try to pull out those elements. I’m trying to hold onto the truth she brings in the photograph."
[Gallery label text, Forman Gallery, Summer 2015]
Thomas’s paintings are based on photographic portraits of models whose qualities allow her to articulate and explore questions of beauty, power, sexuality, and femininity.
"I tend to work with the same models. A lot of them are friends.…So it’s women I work with in proximity to and whose energy I enjoy, and they just have a certain charisma that I’m drawn to. Especially Qusuquzah. There’s something about her. She brings something powerful to the image that amazes me through her gaze. I try to pull out those elements. I’m trying to hold onto the truth she brings in the photograph."
[Gallery label text, Forman Gallery, Summer 2015]
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Exhibition List
This object was included in the following exhibitions:
- The Armory Show Contemporary 3/5/2015 - 3/8/2015
- Art Basel in America 12/3/2015 - 12/6/2015
Bibliography
This object has the following bibliographic references:
- Article Author: Spevak, Jeff. Article Title: Re-arranged MAG Showcases New Acquisitions. Article Scope: Discussion and reproduction. Democrat and Chronicle. Rochester, NY: Rochester Print Co. Issue Date: August 23, 2015.
- Article Title: Artistic Acquisitions. Article Scope: Mention and reproduction. Rochester Review. Rochester, NY: University of Rochester Press Issue Date: Sept-Oct 2015. Page Number: 2; 14-15
- Memorial Art Gallery. ARTiculate. Rochester, NY: Memorial Art Gallery, 2000--.
- Article Author: Rafferty, Rebecca. Article Title: In with the New: New Acquisitions and Reimagined Spaces at MAG. Article Scope: Review. City Newspaper. Rochester, NY Issue Date: August 26, 2015.
- Women Artists at the Memorial Art Gallery. Rochester, NY: Susan B. Anthony Center, University of Rochester, 2017.
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