Beauty was so heavily important in my family, something I had to contend with. All those experiences allow me to make what I'm making today. I grew u…

- Mickalene Thomas

I got really excited about finding new ways of using video, and the immediacy is different, in a way, than painting and photography. The creativity c…

- Mickalene Thomas

I knew what I was doing, but I never really considered the magnitude of how my images were transformative to people.

- Mickalene Thomas

Hotels are amazing spaces and platform for activism. If they placed voting booths in hotels and other space of hospitality - a lot more people would …

- Mickalene Thomas

I'm using the grid as formation. I wanted a relationship between the paintings and videos so that way when you are looking at the videos there's a di…

- Mickalene Thomas

Here I am, the artist, the person, the black woman, and the stereotype. I'm using myself and it has nothing to do with my muses or other women. It ha…

- Mickalene Thomas

Beauty has always been an ​element of discussion for black women, whether or not we were the ones having the conversation​. Out of necessity, black w…

- Mickalene Thomas

I think what I have done is claimed the space and pushed it forward as much as I can in relationship to who I am and how I live my life.

- Mickalene Thomas

I grew up with a lot of brothers and I don't have any sisters, so for me it's really important to develop my sisterhood. It's something I've always c…

- Mickalene Thomas