"The Embrace (Shunga Study)" by Michael Thompson

2018

$3,280

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Dimensions

W: 19.0" D: 1.5" H: 15.0"

Materials

Paper
Ink

Purchase Quantity

Collection #

CMT255

Estimated Shipping

$108

Based in Chicago, IL, contemporary artist Michael Thompson creates unique kites, collages and mixed media works assembled from material fragments of past and present collected in his travels. His ongoing series of large-scale kites bridge the gap between flat art and sculpture, each crafted of split bamboo frames covered with stretched muslin and a collage of vintage ephemera – including kimonos, obis, paintings, scrolls, drawings, metal leaf, bleeding paper, book pages, or anything with a story to tell.

A combination of print and collage, this work entitled “The Embrace (Shunga Study)” condenses the complex processes involved in Thompson’s kite works into a small-scale format. The miniature work offers an intimate scene collaged from a Japanese shunga print and a Chinese-language diagram of the anatomy of a heart. Literally translated as “spring pictures,” Japanese shunga is an erotic art form that reached its peak during the Edo period (1603-1867), typically in the form of woodblock prints (ukiyo-e) depicting the sensual pleasures. Spliced from their original context, the paper fragments of “The Embrace” are layered and rearranged as a convergence of body parts, a frenzied expression of passion and lust. As the couple holds each other close, they become intertwined in a network of veins and arteries, an indication of their all-consuming love, or perhaps simply of their racing hearts.

"The Embrace (Shunga Study)," 2018
Michael Thompson
Mono-print and found paper collage. Framed.

Additional Dimensions:
Visible Collage: 7.5"W x 4"H

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Michael Thompson

b. 1951

Based in Chicago, IL, contemporary artist Michael Thompson creates unique kites, collages and mixed media works assembled from material fragments of past & present.

His body of work spans across a range of art forms, from experimental postal art to paper collage to sculptures assembled from scrap metal and ceramic shards.

Regardless of the medium, each of Thompson’s works is layered with fragments of past lives and bygone memories, measured in the form of antique fabric remnants, printed ephemera and other found elements collected during his travels.

Toyoharu Kii

b. 1953, Ehime, Japan

A leader of the cross-cultural craft resurgence, Japan-based artist Toyoharu Kii creates mosaics with hand-cut Italian marble and Venetian smalti. Inspired by sumi-e ink painting, Kii’s abstract mosaics are a meditation on pattern and form, relying on the careful placement of tesserae to convey sophisticated concepts. His refined compositions vary in scale from multi-story mural installations to works that fit in the palm of your hand.

Toyoharu Kii is revered as Japan’s leading mosaic artist and teacher. His work has been featured in exhibitions worldwide, including solo exhibitions in the United States, Italy, France and Turkey.

Michael Thompson

b. 1951

Based in Chicago, IL, contemporary artist Michael Thompson creates unique kites, collages and mixed media works assembled from material fragments of past & present.

His body of work spans across a range of art forms, from experimental postal art to paper collage to sculptures assembled from scrap metal and ceramic shards.

Michael Thompson

b. 1951

Based in Chicago, IL, contemporary artist Michael Thompson creates unique kites, collages and mixed media works assembled from material fragments of past & present.

His body of work spans across a range of art forms, from experimental postal art to paper collage to sculptures assembled from scrap metal and ceramic shards.