"Landscape" 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 “Landscape,” Thompson creates an animated terrain by layering colorful fragments of paper, the energetic patterns subdued to a hum beneath a calming wash of light paint. Bold swathes of black paint meander through the landscape, generating a graphic, high-contrast composition.

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