Inside Artist Tschabalala Self and Gallerist Michael Mosby’s “Pastoral Elegance” Wedding in Catskill
Tschabalala Self and Michael “Mike” Mosby met in January 2017 at the Elizabeth Dee Gallery in Harlem. Their mutual friend, artist Derek Fordjour, was an exhibiting artist in a group show called “Selections.” Both attended the opening party in support. Mike’s friend, painter, and sculptor Reginald Madison, noticed him checking out Tschabalala from afar and encouraged him to make a move. The gentle nudge paid off: A few hours—and a great conversation—later, Tschabalala and Mike had their first kiss at Corner Social.
Five years later, Mike, the owner of Gallery 495 in Catskill, proposed to Tschabalala, a painter whose works hang in the Whitney Museum, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and the Art Institute of Chicago. (She also painted a portrait of Nicki Minaj for Vogue’s December 2023 issue.)
“We got engaged in 2021 on a piece of land that we own in Germantown, New York. We used to go to this land quite a lot just to take hikes, walk, and spend time,” Tschabalala says. “We got to the property around 4:30 p.m. as the sun was beginning to set behind the Catskill Mountains. I was sitting on the hood of our Jeep when Mike went into the trunk to grab what I thought was his phone. Then, as the sun was getting really close to the horizon line and I was taking in the quiet of the evening, I looked back. There I saw Michael on one knee.”
The two wed in July 2025 at the Thomas Cole House in Catskill, New York. It was a meaningful location for the artistic couple: Not only do they live in the region, but Thomas Cole founded the Hudson River School, the 19th-century American art movement that focused on landscape painting and cemented the country as an emerging creative force. As a nod to the setting’s rich history, they settled on a theme of “pastoral elegance” for the weekend. (Their wedding planners were Events by Ananis.)
Tschabalala wore a tea-length duchesse satin corset gown by Brandon Blackwood. The designer and artist have maintained a close friendship since they were students at Bard College; upon news of their engagement, Brandon immediately offered to make her wedding dress. “He is an immensely talented designer who can make anything,” says Tschabalala. She paired it with Jimmy Choo heels and a pear-shaped diamond necklace that was a wedding gift from her family.
She walked down the lawn of the Thomas Cole House to “Ebony Eyes” by Rick James, surrounded by white flowers and 250 of her closest family and friends. Mike waited for her by the edge of the Federal-style home’s steps in a tan suit by Mark Thomas Men’s Apparel, a local Hudson Valley tailor.
“The ceremony honestly felt a bit surreal,” says Tschabalala. “There were so many people from different parts and moments in mine and Michael’s life. It was very beautiful, moving and heartwarming to share our vows in front of what felt like everyone I had ever known and will know in the future.”
Afterward, guests wandered the grounds of the Thomas Cole house holding smoked peach Old Fashioneds and strawberry-rhubarb gin smashes as a band played jazz, soul, and R&B music from the porch—a musical nod to their respective families’ roots in the Carolinas and New Orleans.
Then, it was on to dinner at Kitty’s Restaurant and its centuries-old barn-turned-event space. Guests enjoyed blackened cod with chili crisp and grilled ribeye with sauce au poivre in the airy country setting, which features a private garden of 14,000 perennials.
Tschabalala changed into her second Brandon Blackwood look of the night: an off-white dress made of crinkle silk chiffon, complete with hand-stitched pleats and an asymmetrical hem. She accented it all with Gianvito Rossi sandals.
Just as the clock struck midnight, the wedding left Kitty’s and descended on Half Moon, a bar a half-block away, for the after-party. “Mike and I DJed from our iPhones on the bar’s sound-system as our friends danced by the stapled pink streamers in the bar,” Tschabalala says. “That part of the evening was a proper foil to the elegant night that came before it.”
Reflecting on her wedding day, Tschabalala and Mike are of course happy that it was a joyful, energetic affair. But most of all, they’re excited about marriage itself. “On July 12, we were able to vow our commitment to one another and share space with all the most important people in our lives at one time and in one space,” Tschabalala says. “In many ways we made a commitment to them that day too, one we will keep for a lifetime.”
Photo: Midnight Sol Photography1/57The shoes for my special day at the Thomas Cole Studio, where I spent the day getting ready ahead of the wedding ceremony.
Photo: Midnight Sol Photography2/57My wedding dress hangs in the window of the studio. My dearest friend Brandon Blackwood made my custom gown for my wedding day. Brandon and I first met 10 years ago, 30 minutes south of this place at Bard College.
