"Connatural" 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 “Connatural,” Thompson celebrates the bamboo frame that lends structure to each of his kites, focusing the eye on a central junction holding the piece together. A mountainous ridge encompasses this link, textured by a gauzy fabric laden with dark green and shimmery bronze pigments.

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

Split bamboo, muslin, paint, pigments.