Mickalene Thomas

New York City

How to Organize a Room Around A Striking Piece of Art is not only a good question but the exhibition title of Mickalene Thomas’s current exhibition as well. Separated into both of Lehman Maupin’s gallery spaces, the show comprises new large-scale paintings depicting landscapes and interior scenes as well as a series of short films created during her recent travels in Europe.

In the Chelsea location, Thomas’s first documentary film “HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO A BEAUTIFUL WOMAN” will be shown alongside photographs of her mother and long-time muse, Sandra Bush. Thomas also re-created one of her tableau environments in the gallery, allowing viewers to fully immerse themselves in her world while watching the film.

Since 2010, when Thomas was commissioned by curator Klaus Biesenbach to create a large-scale mural for MoMA PS1 and a site-specific painting for MoMA’s restaurant The Modern, the surrounding landscape has played an increasingly prominent role in her work. The series of new paintings on view at 201 Chrystie Street were inspired by various art historical sources ranging from 19th-century Hudson River School to Romare Bearden, Henri Matisse, and Édouard Manet. Thomas was specifically drawn to Claude Monet’s infamous garden in Giverny, France, where she spent time while completing a residency at the Versailles Foundation Munn Artists Program. In her hands, Monet’s lush gardens and family home are re-claimed and re-contextualized to form new, contemporary narratives.

Mickalene Thomas

Lehman Maupin

November 14th, 2012 – January 5th, 2013
540 West 26th Street
New York, NY 10001
USA

201 Chrystie Street
New York, NY 10002
USA