Gucci dress paired with the 1770 painting by Benjamin West
The Gibbes Museum of Art presents the world premiere of Statement Pieces: Contemporary Fashion Design and the Gibbes Collection (January 31‒April 27), featuring designer treasures from Barrett Barrera Projects’ acclaimed fashion collection alongside works of art from the Museum’s permanent collection. Exquisitely designed garments are curated with select artworks spanning from 1770 to 2020. The exhibition is the centerpiece of this year’s Art Charleston, the city’s annual visual arts festival (April 23‒27).
Statement Pieces shines a light on extraordinary fashions by Alexander McQueen, Charlie le Mindu, Comme des Garcons, Dapper Dan, Gucci, Molly Goddard, Pam Hogg, Richard Quinn, and Serena Gili. Their designer looks are paired with artworks by Joan Mitchell, Romare Bearden, Jasper Johns, Barkley Hendricks, Gilbert Stuart, Sir Martin Archer Shee, and Utagawa Hiroshige, plus nationally renowned Southern artists Merton Daniel Simpson, Donté K. Hayes, and Edward Rice, among other artists in the museum show. Pictured above is Molly Goddard’s green tulle dress with embroidered flowers, from the Autumn/Winter 2017 Collection. The garment is paired with Joan Mitchell’s 1966 painting, titled Series: July 25 I, oil on canvas. In celebration of the artist’s centennial year, the Gibbes Museum is one of eleven American institutions awarded a grant by the Joan Mitchell Foundation. (Fashion photo by Jonas Gustavsson)
The exhibition is co-curated by Sara Arnold (Director of Curatorial Affairs at the Gibbes Museum of Art), and Kelly Peck (Chief Curator/Vice President of Barrett Barrera Projects). The gallery settings and staging for these one-of-a-kind pairings were designed by Nic Cherry (Director/Barrett Barrera Projects). Portraits by American
and European masters from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries showcase historical figures who were so confidently fashion-forward, they boldly hold their own when positioned next to the high glamour of current fashions. Their sense of style continues to influence present day fashion designers, centuries later. Abstract mid twentieth century paintings, and contemporary artworks of today, signal how art and fashion always influenced each other ‒ a theme clearly evident when viewed through this fashion lens.
Pictured above is the 1804 portrait by Gilbert Stuart of Charleston-born General John R. Fenwick (1780-1842), oil on canvas, exhibited alongside Alexander McQueen’s blue velvet embroidered coat with tulle replica dress, from the Autumn/Winter 2008 Collection. (Fashion photo above by Giovanni Giannoni) Pictured below is the red dress from the Comme des Garcons Spring/Summer 2015 Collection, paired with Sanctuary, the stoneware sculpture created by Donté K. Hayes in 2020. (Fashion photos below by Jonas Gustavsson)
Above: the Museum exhibition pairs Harlem-inspired streetwear by Dapper Dan (pictured left) from his wildly successful 2018 collaboration with Gucci, and the 1972 painting on the right by the late artist Barkley Hendricks, titled Ms. Johnson (Estelle), oil and acrylic on linen canvas. The Museum purchased this painting with funds provided by the National Endowment for the Arts. During his career, Hendricks influenced Black portraiture and conceptualism, and was known for his life-sized portraits of Black Americans. “The Gibbes Museum of Art is thrilled to kick off the new season by celebrating the many ways art and fashion are forever intertwined in our culture,” says Angela Mack, the President and CEO of the Gibbes Museum. “The dialogues between each artwork and garment create a striking visual courtship between the two art forms. By pairing these works from our Museum’s permanent collection with the fashions from Barrett Barrera Projects, together we are taking the phrase Statement Pieces to a whole new level,” adds Angela Mack. Pictured below: the 1823 portrait by Thomas Sully of Sarah Reeve Ladson, oil on canvas, with Alexander McQueen’s two-piece floral ensemble with brown leather corset, Spring/Summer 2009 Collection. (Fashion photos below by Jonas Gustavsson)
The curators emphasize a dramatic focus on form, line, shape, texture, and color, creating fresh explorations of the Gibbes Museum’s collection through fashion. Traditional portraits by prominent American and European painters are re-contextualized with modern takes on power-dressing. The longstanding interplay between fine art and contemporary fashion design is showcased by combinations that examine technique, materiality, memory, identity, and style between each of the coupled fashions and artworks.
The exhibition comes to life through a series of events and programming from January 31 through April 27.
Visit gibbesmuseum.org/programs-events for updated events information.
