How Mickalene Thomas and Tom Wesselmann Reinvented the ‘Female Form’

Summary

• A new exhibition of prints by Mickalene Thomas and Tom Wesselmann is set to open at Palm Springs Art Museum on November 22
• Drawn from the Collections of Jordan D. Schnitzer and His Family Foundation, The Female Form explores each artist’s indelible mark on female nudity within art history

Mickalene Thomas and Tom Wesselmann come into conversation in an upcoming exhibition at the Palm Springs Art Museum. Hailing from the collections of Jordan D. Schnitzer and his family foundation, The Female Form bridges the worlds of two artists, though decades apart, left an indelible mark on representations of women’s bodies. Colliding in color, form and attitude, the showcase turns back the gaze back onto art history itself, asking: how are these stories told, and who gets to tell them?

Wesselmann, a pop art icon, imbued his nude paintings with the cultural tensions of the ’60s and ’70s, namely that between the object and subject. With an embrace of the unapologetically sensual and erotic, these works served as celebrations of beauty and desire, while highlighting the complexities of gender representation.

Decades later enters Thomas, now one of the most powerful voices in the contemporary spaces. She reclaims and reimagines the nude through rich, mixed-media compositions that center narratives of Black female beauty, sexual identity and power.

Spanning generations and perspective, The Female Form explores how both artists expanded the visual language of the nude. At its heart lays Thomas’ “l’espace entre les deux” (2025), a two-room installation resembling one of her signature living spaces—complete with plants, lamps, carpets, and furniture crafted from paper-pulp sculpture, collage and silkscreen. Other highlights include her “Din avec la main dans le miroir et jupe rouge” (2024) and Wesselmann’s “Cut-Out Nude” (1965).

From Renaissance classics to modern interpretations, The Female Form situates both artists within the broader legacy of female representation. “The classical nude is a perfection,” Wesselmann once said. “But the nude in contemporary life, the woman who undresses in front of you, is more than a perfection. She’s a person. That’s what I want to paint.”

The Female Form: Tom Wesselmann & Mickalene Thomas from the Collections of Jordan D. Schnitzer and His Family Foundation will be on view in Palm Springs from November 22 through April 6, 2026.

Palm Springs Art Museum
101 N Museum Dr,
Palm Springs, CA 92262

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