Mickayel Thurin
Mickayel Thurin: Shifting
Opening Reception: Saturday, June 6, 1-4 pm
Artist Talk: Mickayel Thurin ~ 2 pm
On View: June 5 - July 11
Location: Gross McCleaf Gallery, The Mill Studios, 123 Leverington Ave, Philadelphia, PA
Visitor parking is located in The Mill Studios lot, accessible from Leverington Avenue.
Shifting, Mixed media on canvas, 14" x 11"
Gross McCleaf Gallery is proud to present Shifting, a solo exhibition of new mixed media works by Mickayel Thurin. Through painting, text, color, and collaged materials, Thurin creates layered compositions that examine the ongoing processes of personal evolution. Drawing from shadow work, healing practices, and lived experience, Thurin’s paintings function as both self-portraits and records of transition, tracing the shifting perspectives that accompany growth and change.
Throughout Shifting, diverse materials and symbols are placed in conversation with self-portraiture, challenging familiar ways of seeing and understanding ourselves and others. By bringing together varied visual languages, Thurin’s work reflects the complexity of our inner worlds, and further what becomes possible when we move beyond fixed, inherited narratives of self and perceptions. She notes, “My paintings use mismatched material to represent these drastically different frequencies of energy, perspective, and potential.” Allowing distinct materials, symbols, and perspectives to coexist within the same visual spaces creates opportunities for new perspectives and self-examination to take place.
For Thurin, self-portraiture serves as a means of examining the ever-shifting nature of identity. “All the paintings are self-portraits, and with some I am more successful at being myself than others,” Thurin explains. Figures mirror, comfort, question, and recognize one another, creating visual conversations between the many versions of ourselves that coexist: the person we were, the person we are becoming, and the one looking back at both with greater understanding.
“My work discusses ideas about motherhood, spirituality, and consciousness as it intersects the bounds of dimensions and space time. Art is my way of processing experiences, translating raw feelings into visual form."
- Mickayel Thurin
A Multidimensional Queen, Mixed media on canvas, 16" x 12"
Rooted in the practice of shadow work, the exhibition reflects a personal shift toward acknowledging rather than rejecting the parts of ourselves that often remain hidden.
For Thurin, these unseen aspects do not disappear when ignored, but continue to shape our viewpoints, relationships, and patterns of behavior. Through self-portraiture, she examines the possibility of extending compassion inward and embracing the complexity of the self in its entirety.
In combining paint and found materials, Thurin creates works that remain open, layered, and in motion.
Recurring figures and fragments function as visual motifs through which contradiction and transformation can coexist. Fear sits alongside courage, uncertainty alongside growth, and self-protection alongside visibility and vulnerability.
Rather than resolving these tensions, Shifting embraces them as essential parts of the self.
Through this body of work, Thurin invites viewers to reconsider the stories they tell themselves about who they are and the possibilities that may ensue.
You Manifest by Setting Vibes, Acrylic on canvas, 36" x 24"
About the Artist
Mickayel Thurin is a Haitian American artist whose work explores themes of emotion, spirituality, and the human experience through mixed media. She grew up in the Mid-Atlantic region and earned a BFA and a four-year certificate through the joint program at the University of Pennsylvania and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, later completing her Master’s at Penn State.
Thurin was the founder of Seen Heard Connected, a nonprofit dedicated to raising awareness and providing financial assistance to marginalized communities. She was an artist-in-residence at the Philadelphia Museum of Art and has exhibited work at the Philadelphia International Airport, The Delaware Contemporary, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Woodmere Art Museum, the Saginaw Art Museum, and many local galleries.
Thurin and her work have been featured in several publications, on film and TV (WHYY’s Infinite Art Hunt). She has also partnered with Mural Arts, the PMA, the Philadelphia Magic Gardens, DVAA and others to conduct art workshops with the public. She currently has work up at the Rockwood Museum and Park’s We the People, Woodmere’s 83rd Annual, and will have an upcoming solo show, Care, Kin, Perspective, at the Philadelphia Magic Garden later this year.
Thurin lives and works in Philadelphia with her husband, fellow artist Benjamin Passione, and their two sons, Maurice and Maximo. She is represented by Gross McCleaf Gallery in Philadelphia.
It's Okay to be Percieved, Mixed media on canvas, 16" x 12"
Artist Statement
Shadow work involves facing the unconscious parts of ourselves that we repress or hide away from society, friends, and family. These are the parts we fear are too emotional, too complicated, too much, or somehow unworthy of love. These pieces do not disappear while hidden. Shadows speak up through self-sabotage, shame, fear, negative self-perception, or life patterns we struggle to understand.
This body of work reflects a personal shift toward acknowledging these hidden aspects rather than rejecting them. It is about learning to extend compassion inward and recognizing that we are all deserving of love in our entirety, shadow and all. Through self-acceptance, we create the possibility for transformation, a shift toward authenticity, wholeness, and the freedom to exist more truthfully within ourselves and in the world around us.
I believe the depth of our ability to love and empathize with others is directly connected to our willingness to feel, confront, and understand ourselves. The compassion we extend outward is often limited by the compassion we allow ourselves to receive inwardly. By embracing the hidden parts of ourselves instead of fearing or denying them, we create space to heal, connect, and shine more authentically.
My work also discusses ideas about motherhood, spirituality, and consciousness as it intersects the bounds of dimensions and space time. Art is my way of processing experiences, translating raw feelings into visual form. Over time, my work has become an increasingly intimate reflection of this emotional landscape and I use a variety of materials to express these ideas.
Choosing My Peace No Matter What, Mixed Media On Canvas, 40" x 30"
