Mickalene Thomas Press Release

GREENSBURG, Pennsylvania (May 14, 2019) – The Westmoreland Museum of American Art is excited to host contemporary artist Mickalene Thomas and Jose Diaz, Chief Curator, The Andy Warhol Museum, for an upcoming program on Wednesday, May 29, 2019, 7:30 PM – 9:00 PM at the Museum.
Thomas, who is well known for her texturally complex paintings of women, and Diaz will explore how Thomas’ artistic process and work is thematically and stylistically similar to Andy Warhol’s. Diaz and Thomas will address her and Warhol’s use of imagery appropriated from pop culture and history. They will also discuss Thomas’ Shug Kisses Celie, (2016), which is a part of the Museum’s permanent collection and can be found in the Post-1950s Gallery.
To create Shug Kisses Celie (2016), Thomas photographed a still from the movie The Color Purple and lithographed the image onto a grid of mirrored surfaces using several layers of ink. Thomas left one small triangular mirror free of image at child’s height, where viewers can see themselves.
Ticket prices are $8 for members of the Museum and $10 for non-members. To purchase tickets, one may visit thewestmoreland.org/events or call 1.888.718.4253.
About Mickalene Thomas 
Mickalene Thomas is a painter, photographer, videographer and collage artist from Brooklyn, New York, whose artistic vision draws on art history and popular culture to create a contemporary vision of female sexuality, identity, beauty and power. Thomas is best known for creating mixed media portraits of women, using a variety of materials such as acrylic, enamel and rhinestones.
Her recent solo shows include exhibitions at the Baldwin Gallery, Art Gallery of Ontario, The Dayton Art Institute, and Wexner Center for the Arts at The Ohio State University. Her works are in numerous international public and private collections including, but not limited to: The Museum of Modern Art, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, Seattle Art Museum, Brooklyn Museum of Art, Whitney Museum of American Art, and San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.
Recently, Thomas was awarded the 2019 Pioneer Works Visionary Award and has garnered multiple grants and prizes, including the USA Francie Bishop Good & David Horvitz Fellow (2015); Anonymous Was A Woman Award (2013); Brooklyn Museum Asher B. Durand Award (2012); and the Timerhi Award for Leadership in the Arts (2010).
About The Westmoreland Museum of American Art
Offering a place to share compelling and meaningful cultural experiences that open the door to new ideas, perspectives and possibilities, The Westmoreland Museum of American Art in Greensburg, Pennsylvania, is the only museum dedicated to American art in western Pennsylvania. The Westmoreland’s extraordinary permanent collection, with its strong focus on the art and artists of Southwestern Pennsylvania, is complemented by an impressive schedule of temporary exhibitions— both nationally traveling and those organized in house—as well as community-oriented programming and special events. More information is available at thewestmoreland.org and on the Museum’s Facebook, Twitter and Instagram profiles.
Generous support for this program provided by Art Bridges.
The Westmoreland receives funding support through a grant from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, a state agency funded by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania; the Marketing to Attract Tourism Grant through the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development; and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency, among other funding from government, foundations, corporations and individuals.