All About Love: Mickalene Thomas's Bold and Vibrant Exhibition at the Grand Palais - Photos

The Grand Palais is showcasing the work of African American artist Mickalene Thomas from December 17, 2025, to April 5, 2026. Experience a bold, contemporary voice with the exhibition All About Love.

This winter, a vibrant and glittering new exhibition opens its doors at the Grand Palais. At the heart of this show is Mickalene Thomas, an artist renowned worldwide for her striking works that explore and celebrate the identities of Black women. Starting December 17, 2025, she also makes history as the first African American artist to host a solo exhibition at the Grand Palais. Mickalene Thomas’s work will be showcased in a comprehensive monographic exhibit through April 5, 2026.

The All About Love exhibition brings together paintings, photographs, collages, installations, and videos that immerse us in the distinctive and committed world of this contemporary artist.

Through her portraiture, Mickalene Thomas challenges art history and conventions. She draws inspiration from pop art, popular culture, and Western artistic traditions to create colorful canvases rich in patterns and details. The artist likes to mix styles and materials, combining painting with collage and photography. She creates contrasts of patterns and shapes to better highlight her subjects.

The painter highlights black women, choosing sensual, confident, and conquering poses . These women represent love, freedom, joy, and the affirmation of identity through a queer, committed, and feminist lens .

This exhibition, All About Love, focuses on a positive world, a universe where love reigns supreme—love of oneself, love of beauty, intimate or shared love. The colorful paintings, encrusted with rhinestones and shiny materials, are almost provocative, going against historical racist and misogynistic patterns.

Mickalene Thomes' paintings feature references to European painting classics such as Ingres' Grande Odalisque and Manet's Déjeuner sur l'herbe. These paintings are reinterpreted with a more modern, feminist vision.

The exhibition at the Grand Palais features a carefully curated selection of works, each one impressive in size. Visitors can marvel at monumental paintings, striking photographs, and immersive installations that transport us into a variety of atmospheres. More than just a display, this exhibition feels like a full sensory artistic experience, immersing visitors in the artist's world. Throughout, music and natural sounds accompany the journey, and there are rooms designed to recreate the intimate daily life of individuals...

Mickalene Thomas is a distinctive artist known for her vibrant, joyful paintings. She portrays confident, liberated women, celebrating their beauty and sensuality—whether staged or captured in candid moments. Each room offers surprises, with each artwork potentially hiding references to masterpieces from art history.

This exhibition was an instant favorite—don't miss this vibrant, lively break and come discover this contemporary African-American artist at the Grand Palais.

This test was conducted as part of a professional invitation. If your experience differs from ours, please let us know.