Mickalene Thomas introduces her ambitious new show at the Hayward Gallery
For the artist Mickalene Thomas, preparing for her solo show at the Hayward Gallery has been a process of introspection as well as of creation. “I started thinking about the trajectory of my practice and why I make art,” she says. “I reflected on the relationships I’ve had with my sitters – my mother, friends, ex-partners – and it occurred to me that a lot of my images are rooted in love and the different forms it takes, whether strength, vulnerability or desire.”
Coming to this realisation gave Thomas the idea for her exhibition’s title, ‘All About Love’ – also a reference to a seminal text by the feminist writer bell hooks, whom Thomas has long admired. “She always talked about love being a verb and not a noun – that felt really empowering to me, because that’s what I’m trying to do; to look at love as a journey or a narrative.”
Taking centre-stage at the Hayward are Thomas’ mixed-media paintings of female figures in relaxed, leisurely poses that express comfort and pleasure – a subtle challenge to the historic eroticisation of Black women in art. These canvases feature vivid, highly patterned backdrops embellished with rhinestones, giving them a luscious, celebratory feel.
Complementing the paintings are large-scale installations that recreate the domestic settings of the artist’s 1970s and 1980s childhood, filled with personal keepsakes, Polaroid photographs and beloved books. “I wanted to create immersive spaces that a particular demographic of people feel they can occupy – places of contemplation where they can come and sit down, and see things that resonate with them,” says Thomas. “The idea is that anyone who comes through should feel a sense of belonging.”
A recreation of the artist’s personal moodboard – a “shrine”, as she calls it – offers insight into her creative process, which sees her draw inspiration from multiple sources, both visual and literary. “I use collage as a way of working out some of my ideas, whether that’s through archival images that I re-scan and print on special paper or my own photographic resources,” explains Thomas. “And I read a lot – the writing of James Baldwin, biographies of [the painter] Alice Neel – which informs how I think of myself as an artist.”
Her references are intentionally broad: Faith Ringgold and Carrie Mae Weems are important influences, but so are European artists such as Gustave Courbet and Claude Monet. Indeed, one of the highlights of the exhibition is a lush, verdant reimagining of Monet’s garden at Giverny, where Thomas previously spent time. “Giverny has a warm place in my heart, because I learnt so much about my own practice and Monet’s,” she says. The genius of her work lies in her ability to show respect for the legacy of the Western art canon while bringing attention to the limited field of vision it offers.
Of course, the show offers only a snapshot of Thomas’ diverse oeuvre. “I didn’t want to call it a retrospective because I’m very prolific – I make a lot of work, and there’s more to come,” she says, adding that she is currently working on a series of monumental sculptures to be displayed as public art in New York and Switzerland, as well as a number of films. Whichever medium she is focusing on, what matters to her is the power of art to change people’s outlook. “I’m always looking for that one person who is transformed when they see it, just like I was when I stood in front of Carrie Mae Weems’ art in 1994 in Portland, Oregon, and became the artist that I am today,” she says. “I want my work to be impactful, inspiring and powerful – and I want you to walk out of the gallery feeling a better sense of yourself than you did.”
‘Mickalene Thomas: All About Love’ is at the Hayward Gallery until 5 May, paired with ‘Linder: Danger Came Smiling’.
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