Mickalene Thomas’s large-scale
photographs of a regal black woman greet visitors at Lehmann
Maupin gallery in Chelsea.
The subject is depicted spread out on a couch with her
breasts exposed and sitting primly with a red dress pulled over
her knees. This is the artist’s mother and muse, Sandra Bush,
who passed away this year at age 61.
Photographed over time in a variety of guises, Bush always
conveys a mix of pride, vulnerability and seduction.
Having frequently appeared in Thomas’s richly textured,
rhinestone-studded paintings, Bush is also the focus of her
daughter’s first short documentary film.
It’s a moving, intimate portrait of a woman who aspired to
be a model, walked out on an abusive husband and overcame drug
addiction. The interview format is softened with old black-and-
white family photographs and film footage of fashion shows,
birthday parties and a hospital bed.
On
Article source: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-12-28/thomas-s-mother-makes-sultry-muse-amusement-parks-chelsea-art.html