Mickalene Thomas at Giverny

The dazzling mixed-media works of Mickalene Thomas (b. 1971) combine rhinestones with acrylic and oil paints to create compositions that often reference iconic works of art from nineteenth-century Europe. In her reimagined renderings, the artist replaces the European subjects of these images with powerful and glamorous African American women, inviting questions about conventional beauty, racial identity, and the traditional art historical narrative.