Linder’s retrospective spans 50 years of her work, beginning with her most iconic cut-out collages. The juxtaposition of domestic objects, like a blender replacing a woman’s head, against the naked female body, is one example of many fascinating combinations which compels the viewer to reflect on consumerism, commodification, and the representation of women. These minimal yet radical alterations, use fragmentation to disrupt the male gaze with striking immediacy.
The exhibition is expertly curated, moving seamlessly through the themes that have shaped Linder’s practice while also taking us through chronologically. It culminates in impressive new pieces, completed in 2025, reinforcing both the shocking persistence of societal misogyny and the joyful, rebellious spirit of her subversive art.
Mickalene Thomas: All About Love extends the conversation, sharing Linder’s collage techniques while offering an different perspective in its celebration of Black queer love. The opening room dazzles with rhinestone-studded, large-scale enamel paintings on wood, their camp and feminine exuberance reclaiming and recontextualizing the female nude. Placed within domestic settings, these works democratise high art while evoking an intimate perspective.
Winding up the stairs, Thomas’s work takes a more serious tone in both execution and theme. Her fragmented collages redefine control over the female body, with ‘censor-like’ squares serving as shields. Her multimedia approach is intricate, layering and splicing materials with the same precision as her visual art, including the notable Eartha Kitt’s Paint Me Black Angels. The exhibition concludes with a chilling political piece that interweaves Civil Rights activist imagery with Black Lives Matter protests and a rhinestone outline of Picasso’s Guernica.
Both exhibitions stand powerfully on their own while engaging in a compelling dialogue. They challenge, provoke, and ultimately leave a lasting emotional impact.
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