Felandus Thames is turning beads, curtains, and everyday objects into vivid portraits that celebrate Black cultural memory. Working from his studio in West Haven, Connecticut, the artist creates layered works that blend craft, history, and personal symbolism.
His latest pieces focus on Black luminaries, including portraits of Dorie Ladner and Margaret Walker, shown in the inaugural Aldrich Decennial at the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum in Ridgefield. The exhibition highlights 40 artists living and working in Connecticut and is designed as a recurring survey every ten years.
Thames builds his work from materials he connects to Black life and style, such as beads, hairbrushes, and curtain forms inspired by home interiors. He says these elements help him link art to memory, identity, and the visual language of Black communities.
His process is intentionally labor-intensive, with a single curtain taking hundreds of hours to complete. Yet the result is meant to feel immediate and inviting: art that rewards close looking while opening a path to wider cultural discovery.
By placing local artists and underrecognized histories in a major museum setting, Thames and the Aldrich are helping expand where cultural influence can be seen and felt. This approach points toward a future in which regional art scenes carry even greater global relevance.
