Mickalene Thomas:
Bass Museum of Art, Miami
Mickalene Thomas’ Better Nights, at the Bass Museum of Art in Miami,
is an immersive installation inspired by a play entitled Put a Little Sugar
in my Bowl, and by the artist’s mother, friends and family, namely the parties hosted by the artist’s mother in the late 1970s.
The installation embodies an apartment environment, conceptually reconstructed according to the domestic aesthetic of the period, including faux wood panelling, wallpaper and custom seating reupholstered with
the artist’s signature textiles. The installation incorporates both work
by the artist and a selection of work by emerging and prominent artists of colour, curated by Thomas as an extension of his practice; the prop-like tableau echoes the collage-like compositional style of Thomas’s paintings. Better Nights will present a schedule of programming arranged
by the artist, including live performances, concerts and activations.
Timed to open during Art Basel Miami Beach 2019 on Sunday,
December 1, the exhibition will run until September 27, 2020.
Mickalene Thomas is a visual artist, filmmaker and curator who has exhibited extensively both in the US and internationally. She is best known for her paintings that combine art-historical, political and pop-cultural references. Her work introduces complex notions of femininity and challenges common definitions of beauty and aesthetic representations of women. The Bass Museum is recognised for organising the first solo museum exhibitions in the United States of international artists such as Erwin Wurm, El Anatsui, Isaac Julien, Eve Sussman and Piotr Ukla?ski.
