Thomas. (Patrick McMullan)

This fall, Mickalene Thomas will premiere her first documentary during the opening of her solo show, Mickalene Thomas: Origin of the Universe,” at the Brooklyn Museum. The documentary is called Happy Birthday to a Beautiful Woman. According to an announcement from Lehmann Maupin, the artist’s gallery, it is a “celebration of Thomas’s mother and muse, Sandra Bush.” Her mother also happens to be the subject of a number of photographs and paintings that will be on view at the Brooklyn Museum show.

Ms. Thomas said in a statement:

At the moment, my mother is suffering from illness and kidney failure, having to go to dialysis 3 days a week. She has lost 30 pounds and lives by herself. I want to continue to use her in my work as a way to investigate and grasp the understanding of beauty, success and failure. She is 6’1” and modeled for most of her life. I want my work to represent her in the reality of who she is, but I also want to capture her strength and beauty.

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