All About Love is a monographic exhibition by American artist Mickalene Thomas. Recognized across the world for her bold and multidimensional practice, Thomas reimagines classical portraiture through painting, collage, photography, video and installation, exploring the visibility and representation of Black women in art, history, and popular culture.
At the heart of her work is love, presented as a force of liberation, self-assertion, and joy. Inspired by Bell Hooks's seminal book, All About Love: New Visions (1999), this exhibition celebrates love’s power to transform both personal and collective life. Thomas’s practice often reinterprets and disrupts canonical moments in European, particularly French, art history. Works referencing masterpieces such as Manet with Le Déjeuner sur l’herbe (1863) and Ingres with La Grande Odalisque (1814) are reimagined through a contemporary lens of empowerment, placing Black women firmly at the center of the narrative.Featuring works spanning over two decades, All About Love honors the agency, beauty, and resilience of Black women and invites audiences to enter a universe of love, leisure, and liberation, spaces where beauty, intimacy, and self-possession reshape the art historical gaze.
AFMO invites you to view this seminal exhibition through a private tour at the Grand Palais.
Event reserved for AFMO Patron-level members and above.
Image: Mickalene Thomas, Afro Goddess Looking Forward, 2015