Cappy Thompson

Thompson is a devotee of the pre-modern both in terms of her imagery and use of medieval techniques such as enamel painted and wheel-engraved glass. While visionary and sacred scenes from diverse cultures inspire Thompson's imagery, so does contemporary experience. The enamel-on-glass painting Cosmic Woman (2018), for example, offers a female rendition of the ancient Jainian personification of the cosmos. Elsewhere, stylized giant tulips are borrowed from Pennsylvania Dutch lace and Fraktur drawing, and feather-clad harpies hail from Greek mythology and Russian folk art alike. The reverse-painted Verdant Black Madonna (2015) proffers a folk rendition of the Polish Gothic dark-skinned figure thought to be a pagan earth goddess rechristened as the Virgin Mary. Thompson builds on accumulated and coinciding histories such as these, highlighting connections among cultures and peoples across time and globe.

—Melissa E Feldman