Bucktown-Wicker Park Branch hosts an Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month art exhibit during May 2018 featuring artist Michael Thompson.
Michael Thompson’s kites are not meant to fly. He began making them as a lark while a student at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, but after a show of them in the Goodman Theatre lobby he began to take the notion of the work seriously. A chance trip to South Korea for an exhibition of his postage stamp art revealed a country rich in materials for inclusion on the kites as collage elements—calligraphic scrolls, scroll paintings, illustrated books, rice papers, kimono and obi fabrics. He subsequently began traveling throughout the Far East in search of materials for the kites. By combining collage techniques, expressive brushwork and abstraction, Thompson continues to extend his exploration of this unusual medium.
