This winter, Forum Gallery will present 14 Years Old, the inaugural New York solo exhibition for Michael C. Thorpe. At just 28 years of age, Thorpe is an exciting young artist who has burst on to the art scene telling stories about his world expressed in quilts of colorful fabric, meandering stitching and printed canvas, in playful pencil and stitched drawings, and in surprising sculptural works. 14 Years Old presents thirty new works by Thorpe and continues through December 31, 2022.
Thorpe came to quilting as an artistic vehicle connecting him to his bi-racial background. Quilting is a skill passed on intergenerationally by the matriarchs of Thorpe’s family who were part of the quilting community in New England. Thorpe’s subsequent discovery of the Gee’s Bend community of African American women quilters in Alabama offered the Artist deeper personal meaning in his chosen medium and a connection to his African American heritage.
Recalling his time playing competitive basketball, his friends, family and inspirational figures, Thorpe transports us into the richly diverse community he inhabits encouraging dialogue between people from all walks of life with a generosity of spirit no better exemplified than in the alluring, whimsical Atlanta House Party (40” x 33”). In equal measure, Thorpe’s illuminating juxtapositions highlight cultural issues in two ingenious, quilted collages, Whole Family (62” x 46”) and LOT (63” x 46”), both inspired by Thorpe’s reading of Ebony magazine. “Before I had ever opened Ebony I thought it was all about celebration of Black life however it was far greater than that,” Thorpe observes. “It really shed a light on the Black experience and talked about topics that are deeply connected to the human experience.”
Images courtesy of the Forum Gallery.
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