Meandering Thoughts: Michael C. Thorpe

Meandering /mēˈandəriNG/ - definition: following a winding course.

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A meander is a quilting design that is repeated to fill in an area. - Angel Walters, Free Motion Meandering: A beginner’s guide to Machine Quilting, C&T Publishing, Inc., 2017.

This exhibition is a statement of Thorpe’s journey; a dream come true yet far from over. The works tell stories of his life through a dream-like lens with humor and introspect. Dreams of traveling to Japan, or  to  play  pro  basketball,  an  imagined  excursion  to  space  and  humorous  takes  on  his  beer consumption and Dick Gregory’s 1968 Presidential run.

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We  are  immensely  honored  to  represent  Thorpe  and  proud  to  have  his  first  in person solo  exhibition in Spring.  His  works have  roots  in  American  quilting  which  traditionally  were  made  communally  by women  for  utilitarian  reasons.  He also  draws  from  Gee’s  Bend  quilting  traditions  of  improvisation which  bears  heavy  African  influenced  patterning. Confronting  these  traditions  and  narratives,  he presents his unique image making through creative compositions of shapes and colors.

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Michael C. Thorpe was born in New York and grew up in Newton MA. He graduated from Emerson College with a degree in photojournalism and was a basketball player for the college team. His work is in the collection of MFA Boston and this is his second solo exhibition with the gallery.