In this self-portrait, American artist Mickalene Thomas casts herself as an “Afro Goddess,” centering Black feminine power, beauty, and self-possession. With collaged eyes (photographs inserted into a painted body) which insist that we meet her gaze, she turns centuries of art-history to a contemporary piecing looking back at us. Rhinestones and saturated patterning amplify her presence, refusing the idea that adornment is superficial. Sparkle functions as armor, halo, and spotlight all at once.
She depicts herself as a Black woman reclining across a low sofa, her body angled diagonally while her face turns towards us. Her skin is rendered in warm brown tones, edged with tiny rhinestones that catch the light along her jaw, lips, and hands. A dense, glittering Afro forms a halo around her head with its surface sparkling like a night sky. Across her eyes, a narrow black-and-white photographic strip interrupts the painted face, showing the artist’s own gaze staring directly outward. She wears a lush green robe patterned with flowers and purples, draped over crossed legs, the fabric pooling into the foreground. Behind her, overlapping panels of wallpaper, cushions, and collage with oversized daisies, pink and green swirls, muted creams and browns create a patchwork interior that feels both domestic and stage-like. A hint of tabletop greenery and still-life objects flickers at the left edge, deepening the sense of a lived-in room. The overall effect is sumptuous, layered, and unapologetically glamorous.
Created in the middle of her career, while Thomas was living in New York and gaining international recognition, the work extends her project of reimagining modern interiors and reclining nudes through a Black feminist lens. The self-portrait aligns with the artist’s commitment to love as a radical practice that honors queer Black womanhood, everyday glamour, and the right to take up space with confidence, tenderness, and joy.
"Afro Goddess Looking Forward" by Mickalene Thomas (American) - Rhinestones, acrylic, and oil on wood panel / 2015 - Barnes Foundation (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) #WomenInArt #MickaleneThomas #BarnesFoundation #artText #BlackArt #womensArt #WomenArtists #art #arte #SelfPortrait #BlackWomenArtists
