Originally posted in my March 2025 Newsletter
Quarterly, Beyond The Frame series will spotlight Black contemporary artists, introducing you to artists whose work and stories may be new to you. This series aims to celebrate their artistry and shed light on the inspiration behind their creations.
Last fall, I traveled to Philadelphia to experience All About Love at The Barnes Foundation—an incredible exhibition I hope to travel to other parts of the country. Thomas constructs her paintings from her photographs, reimagining them through rhinestones, collage, acrylic paint, and enamel. I first encountered her work at The Phillips Collection during the Multiplicity: Blackness in Contemporary American Collage exhibition in July 2024. One of my favorite series is her Jet series, which honors the legacy of Jet Magazine—a household staple in many Black communities, especially in the 1970s. The magazine had a series titled Beauty of the Week, featuring a woman with her name, where she was from, her hobbies, her job, and her interests. If you ever have a chance to view it, Thomas’s perspective is beautiful to see.
Recently, I came across an Instagram ad about an upcoming collaboration between Mickalene Thomas and Avant Arte. Avant Arte describes itself as a platform that partners with leading contemporary artists to create limited-edition works—ranging from sculpture editions and works on paper to NFTs and hand-finished silkscreen prints—all intending to make art collecting more accessible.
Below, I’m sharing the prints that will be available, along with a video of Mickalene Thomas in her studio discussing her practice, the meaning behind each of the four silkscreen editions, and her vision for making art collecting more inclusive through this collaboration.
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