"All Rivers Run to the Sea" Kite by Michael Thompson

Chicago-based artist Michael Thompson creates unique kites crafted from split bamboo frames covered with stretched muslin and a collage of vintage Asian ephemera—including fragments of fabric, scrolls, drawings, and books collected during his travels. In “All Rivers Run to the Sea,” Thompson invokes the tranquility of the ocean with a collage of turquoise and indigo. Inky blue dyes saturate the kite, flowing freely into each other like water sweeping on to the shore. Moments of turbulence emerge from the ebb and flow of color, and Thompson takes care to balance these moments with unexpected pattern and texture.

Thompson has earned an international reputation for his kite works, an engrossing project initiated by the artist more than a decade ago.