College Basketball Star Now Making Moves in the Art World

** OGTV's second entry of this week of BIPOC STORIES is about a college basketball star, Michael Thorpe, who also demonstrates amazing originality and skill as a quilter! **
There aren’t too many young male artists involved in quilting, but that’s been the path for 26-year-old Michael Thorpe. Thorpe is an exciting new artist who is making large-scale quilt portraits using techniques he learned from his Mom, a lifelong quilter.
His works are bright, bold and provocative, and they have grabbed the art world's attention. After popular gallery events, Thorpe's first museum showing will be at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston where they are excited to display his unique and thought provoking artistry.
"I was an oddball, I mean, you probably don't know a male quilter unless you're in the industry, but there aren’t a lot of male quilters and then Black male quilters, it gets really slim," Thorpe, a photographer by training, says of his pursuit of quilting. Thorpe looked to other Black artists for inspiration and discovered Jean-Michel Basquiat who influenced his early quilts, which are abstract and bold.
In addition to being a talented artist, Thorpe is an athlete who was a 4-year starter and 1,000 point scorer at Emerson College. Some of the inspiration for Thorpe’s work is his upbringing and his love of basketball and its culture. His portraits of famous basketball players and family members are some of his most authentic and inspired work.
"Biggest thing I realized is that art is all about being authentic. You've got to be who you are,” Thorpe says. "You can't fake the funk."
Watch and see how this artist uses images, textures, patterns and colors to infuse his subjects with an energy that pulses from each frame.
Producer/Director - Ronnie Forchheimer
Editor - Cathy Honeywell
Videographer - Heather Holloway
Audio - Wade Smith
Learn more at: michaelcthorpe....
To see more OnlyGood TV BIPOC STORIES videos, visit us at: bit.ly/BIPOCSt...
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