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 “Red Headed Drummer” condenses the complex processes involved in Thompson’s kite works into a small-scale format. Moody and atmospheric, the collage depicts a red-headed woodpecker resting on a branch, a common bird of temperate North America. Well-placed paper fragments add depth and character to the composition, traceable in the Chinese characters at the base of the tree branch or the torn edges of brown kraft paper along the border. The head of the woodpecker consists of a dense grid of red and white, while its lighter plumage is made up of found paper numbered with dates. Printed shading overlaid onto the collage achieves a distressed, shadowy effect that softens towards the center to create a halo of light around the bird.
"Red Headed Drummer," 2018
Michael Thompson
Mono-print and found paper collage. Framed.
Additional Dimensions:
Visible Collage: 8.75"W x 12"H
