"Aeriform" 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 “Aeriform,” Thompson works within a palette of warm earth tones, layering hand-dyed paper with silk brocades woven with metallic threads that catch the light beautifully. Reminiscent of patinated metals, rivulets of green watercolor pigments trickle through the composition as though corroding the kite with exposure to air. Found papers printed with floral motifs and natural landscapes add figural elements and contrast the rigid lines of the collage.

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

Split bamboo, muslin, rice paper, silk, watercolor, mixed materials.