"Text and Tide" Kite by Michael Thompson

Chicago-based artist Michael Thompson creates unique kites crafted from split bamboo frames covered with stretched muslin and a collage of vintage Asian ephemera - including fragments of fabric, scrolls, drawings, and books collected during his travels.

In “Text and Tide,” Thompson employs paint residue, silk obi fragments, and inky blue and black pigments to recreate the churning motion of a body of water. Bleeding into the surrounding fragments of handmade paper and printed text, the richly saturated blues create the illusion of a tide lapping at the shore. As in many of Thompson's works, the final composition finds balance in the contrast between rigid patterns and ever shifting colors.

Thompson has earned an international reputation for his kite works, an engrossing project initiated by the artist more than a decade ago.