Meet the Artists | Mickalene Thomas

While working on a host of spectacular collages, Mickalene Thomas welcomed Art Basel to her Brooklyn studio. Among the monumental cut-outs and jars of sequins, she talked about the women who inspired her: from actress Pam Grier and model Naomi Sims to everyday heroines like the beauty queens in the iconic African American magazine Jet. Collectively, they epitomized the Black is Beautiful movement – and ushered in a new era. ‘These women were defining another way of looking at beauty,’ Thomas says. ‘It’s not just the surface, it’s also the actions.’

Mickalene Thomas is represented by Galerie Nathalie Obadia (Paris, Brussels), Yancey Richardson Gallery (New York City), Kavi Gupta Gallery (Chicago), and Vielmetter Los Angeles.

Direction: TORSO
Cinematography: Jake Moore
Edit: Anthony Valdez
Sound capture: Robert Douthat
Production: Coline Milliard and Jeanne-Salomé Rochat for Art Basel