ERIK BERGRIN: THE 8 DISSOLUTIONS EXHIBITION

Dissolution 8 – Emptiness – One starts to become conscious again, the clear light of death manifests. This appears as a clear vacuum-like empty sky. “I visualize the vastness of traveling through space. An open vacuum of blackness with shining stars and colorful nebulae, harnessing the energy of the sun in order to be reborn.”

 

Morris Museum Announces Fiber Sculpture Installation by Artist Erik Bergrin Exhibition on View January 28 – July 10, 2022

The 8 Dissolutions is a fiber-sculpture installation by New York City-based artist and costume maker Erik Bergrin. A student of Buddhist philosophy, Bergrin explores the transience of the human body and the eternity of the mind in this new collection of work. The exhibition takes its name from the eight dissolutions, a Tibetan Buddhist meditation practice that visualizes one’s mortality in the recurring cycle of death and rebirth on the path to enlightenment. The costumes are entirely handsewn, made from fabrics created by Bergrin using traditional techniques such as weaving and felting, as well as grown from unusual materials such as seaweed, fermented tea, and crystallizations. Some include integrated drums and rattles. A video monitor documents a performance with the costumes making musical sounds with each movement, revealing the multidisciplinary nature of Bergrin’s artistic approach.

 

“The 8 Dissolutions,” is a Buddhist death process in which the senses and elements shut down in 8 stages. There is a visualization meditation that guides you through the 8 stages. Dissolution 1 starts with the earth element dissolving, as well as your sight. Dissolution 2, is water and sound, etc. I practiced this visualization repeatedly to imagine the pieces. To create the visceral textures that I was seeing, I experimented with developing new kinds of textiles. I developed fabric made of sodium alginate seaweed,  spent a year growing leather like materials from kombucha scobies, growing crystals on fabrics, embedded handmade drums in pieces, making bioplastics from seaweed, and melting bismuth to make colorful crystals, along with weaving, coiling, and felting. During the visualization, my hands always wanted to move a certain way, which is why each piece is associated with a mudra, or hand gesture. Each of these mudras is photographed and printed on fabric that was sewn into dresses which will hang behind each piece to act as a shadow. The show has a video component of people wearing the pieces, along with a teacher showing the mudras to each model. Each piece is also associated with a sound that will build up one by one and will play throughout the gallery to accompany the video.

 

Dissolution 1: Earth and Sight – The element of earth dissolves. The eye sense power deteriorates. The person ceases to see clearly, unable to open or close their eyes. As the earth element dissolves it evokes the experience of the dying person being buried beneath the earth. The visualization of this dissolution brought forth imagery of straps crossing and binding over my body as my arms hung lifeless at my sides sinking back.

In Tibetan Buddhism, meditating on the eight dissolutions, or eight stages of death, allows the practitioner to prepare their consciousness to move into the cycle of rebirth without fear. Erik Bergrin first experienced this visualization meditation at a monastery in Nepal, where he was struck by imagery of colors and textures. Through repeated practice, clear visualizations of each dissolution emerged with a corresponding symbolic hand gesture known as a mudra. Each of the pieces in this exhibition is a representation of Bergrin’s visualizations realized. “Meditating on your own death is a way to realize how precious your life is.” -Erik Bergrin

Dissolution 2: Water and Sound – The element of water dissolves. The ear sense power deteriorates. The person can no longer hear sounds. The body can no longer feel the three types of feeling: pleasure, pain, and neutral. The fluids from the body dry up: urine, saliva, blood, and sweat. The burning heat of red pain creeps up one arm and the uplifting icy blue creeps up the other, meeting at neutral at my neck. My body starts to shrivel and dry up, like a vacuum sucking away all the fluid leaving the fossilized bones remaining. What hangs in the center is the reminder of the sound of where water once was.

 

Sculptural Processes:

Kombucha Leather  developed similarly to kombucha tea. Scobys (symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast), water, sugar, and tea are brewed in a large container and fed once a week. The scobys produce a layer on top of the liquid as a way to protect themselves, which after a month is removed. This thick flat sheet of slime dries into a translucent piece of leather after a week. The leather is colored using different types of tea and food coloring during the growing process. It took almost a year to grow enough leather for the pieces in the exhibition.

Seaweed Textile developed from sodium alginate, glycerin, and water mixture then laid over wool roving and sprayed with calcium chloride to harden.

Grown Crystal Textile Pipe cleaners with rubber mat backing are soaked in a bath of borax and water to crystallize. The mixture is then sprayed with translucent tint spray.

Armature Wire and Wax Armature wire is hammered down and wrapped with wax thread to create strands that sound like water when a hand is run over them.

Drums Rawhide is soaked and stretched over a wooden frame and laced together in the back.

Bismuth Silver charms are dipped into melted down bismuth to create colorful bismuth crystals.

The exhibition is curated by the Morris Museum’s Ronald T. Labaco, Director of Exhibitions and Collections/Chief Curator, and Michelle Graves, Curatorial Assistant.

Founded in 1913, the Morris Museum is an award-winning, multifaceted arts and cultural institution serving the public through its exhibitions and performances, which strive to interpret the past and discover the future through art, sound, and motion. The Museum is home to the historic and internationally-significant Murtogh D. Guinness Collection of Mechanical Musical Instruments and Automata. The Museum’s Bickford Theatre is a 312-seat performing-arts facility, offering unique programming in film, jazz, and live performance through its innovative series, Live Arts. As New Jersey’s only Smithsonian Affiliate, it launched Spark!Lab, a dynamic, Smithsonian-created learning space which will inspire young visitors to create, collaborate, and innovate.

Morris Museum
6 Normandy Heights Road
Morristown, NJ 07960

Museum Hours:
Monday – Tuesday, Closed
Wednesday – Sunday, 11:00AM to 5:00PM
https://morrismuseum.org/

FREDERIQUE AND THE CITY BY ELLEN VON UNWERTH

Frederique and The City

Frederique van der Wal by Ellen von Unwerth

Clothing by Georgine

Makeup by Romero Jennings

There is no denying that Ellen von Unwerth and Frederique van der Wal are legends in the fashion world. Between the photographer and Supermodel, there is a prolific collection of coffee-table compendium worthy images that, through the years, have inspired a generation of photography enthusiast and fashion fanatics alike. 

The universe brought the two fashion juggernauts together when they discovered they lived in the same New York City apartment building. Together, with fashion designer Georgine Ratelband the two icons have created images in Ellen von Unwerth’s unmistakable aesthetic of “sex, fun and rock & roll.” Iris Covet Book documented the chat between Ellen, Frederique and Georgine on how this shoot came together, staying creative during lockdown and their plans for 2021.

IRIS: Hi ladies, can you give us a little background on how you and Ellen met and how long you have known each other.

ELLEN: Ok yes, we know each other because we live on the same floor in the same building in New York and we run into each other often. You know, we’ve always said let’s shoot together but never found the right time. But this one morning I came home and saw Frederique with a totally new look. Her hair was totally blonde and you know how I love a blonde! I said “Oh my God this is the moment. We have to shoot!”. So, I called Georgine and I asked her if she wanted to join and Georgine offered us pieces from her collection.

FREDERIQUE: I’ve always adored Ellen’s work and strangely enough we had never yet worked together. Somehow it hadn’t happened until both of us, this past September were stuck in New York City.
Then it all came together…this sexy rock and roll Ellen element mixed with the city and the roof. It was very inspiring. For me sometimes, you have these moments when you really get your adrenaline going and that’s how the shoot felt for me. It felt great! It was a day where the playfulness was there, the fun, the sexiness, the rock and roll. It was so Ellen and then the fantastic clothes by Georgine.

GEORGINE: It was very spontaneous And it came together very effortlessly which I enjoyed very much! I think Ellen called me two days before the shoot, I pulled a variety of looks for Frederique that I thought would suit her and we were ready to rock & roll!

ELLEN: Yes, but also you look incredible in the pictures! It’s one thing to see you coming in and out of our building every day but when you see the pictures, you’re like “Wow! There’s Frederique the supermodel!”. I was really blown away when I saw the pictures. Also, it’s very intimate because it’s in my apartment and our roof. A small home production with friends.

IRIS: Frederique, I was reading about a new venture that you have called lifecycles. Is that a project of yours that we can look forward to later this year?

FREDERIQUE: Yes, I created a series with newswire.fm where I visit friends and or celebs from different industries. I’m always riding around on my bike and I talk about life in New York and what keeps them there and we discuss their ups and downs and inspirations. We did our first seven and we featured a bunch of people from different artistic backgrounds. As in fantastic singer Marieme Diop, actor/director Griffin Dunne, designers Badgley Mischka, architect Winka Dubbeldam who did both Ellen and my apartment. An amazing mix of people and it’s coming out this year. It was really fun and it’s a good thing to show the love we all have for New York City. It’s funny, I’m not a Native New Yorker but I do feel like I’m a Dutch-New Yorker.

Whatever happens, the city breathes a sort of inspiration. It’s the mix of people, the wild experiences which can happen in the city at any moment. It just makes it such a special place. I think New York has such a heartbeat. It keeps you coming back to it.

ELLEN: Each time I’m coming from the airport and I see the skyline I just think “Wow, I’m coming home.” You know? I really feel like this is my city. It is so special because even when I’m in Paris, Berlin and all these other beautiful cities, it’s still not like being in New York. Of course, it’s a sad time at the moment, but I love how quickly and creatively they built up all the outdoor seating restaurants. Some of them with really nice decorations and music. It’s nice to see how New York always overcomes challenges.

FREDERIQUE: And also, that resilience of a New Yorker. It’s interesting to see it from a European perspective. For example, the Dutch if you would say to people you have to take another job or you have to come up with an idea to have a different approach to what you’ve been doing, it’s harder for them. But here in New York people are like “Yes let’s go for it! Come on let’s do it!” And I love that.

GEORGINE: New Yorkers are so strong and also very flexible and easy to adapt to a new situation.

ELLEN: It’s also kind of a survival mode of being a New Yorker. You don’t have the luxury to wait things out, you have to be creative to make it there.

IRIS: What are some things you have been doing during the lockdown to stay creative?

ELLEN: I still have been working but of course much less than normal. Productions have slowly started again with many precautions with testing and mask and everything. You never know how the virus reacts so it’s always stressful after a shoot to not know if you might have it or how your body might react to it. I also did some facetime shoots. Like facetiming a shoot in Paris and another in LA. So, I guess we have found new ways of being creative which is the good side of things I suppose.
It can be kind of fun because you feel very voyeuristic since you’re practically in somebody’s apartment.
And then I’m like “Oh, I want to see what is over there… ok you could just sit over there you know and pose like this.” It does feel weird. I would much rather be with somebody in person of course.

FREDERIQUE: I think that the future will be more about coming together. I think we will see more value in what we are doing because of this time of reflection. And be a little bit more focused on what we really want to do. And I think when you do that, as in organizing this shoot and being surrounded with people you like, it creates something great.

ELLEN: I don’t always photograph the people I love for jobs, but I think we can definitely focus more on what we want to say through our work. Now that we see that time is precious and we can’t waste it, I think it’s more important than ever.

IRIS: One of the things that you talked about is reflection. Since we all had much more time for personal reflection, was there anything that you learned about yourself this past year?

FREDERIQUE: Well, I was quite lucky that I could escape to upstate New York where I have a farm. We were able to go back and forth from there and back to the city. It was so nice to be in nature, how healing that was actually. And I realized how much I loved the time I spent in nature and in the garden. Planting and gardening with all this free time felt new to me and it was different to have this solitude with just a few people at my house. Of course, I miss going out and I’m dying to go dancing and to go to all the fun events, but it was interesting to realize how much I actually love being more in nature and working with my hands. So, I ended up creating gardens, planting vegetable, and painting. I loved it.

GEORGINE: We got back from Paris Fashion Week and doing a last minute trunk show in Texas and enjoyed the time off. We are always on the run between places and running around so it was great to have a moment to relax. Catched up on a lot of tv shows and re-watched some classic movies and of course did a lot of cooking.But after a couple of weeks I felt very restless and needed a project. We have always wanted to renovate our showroom and give it new light. This seemed the perfect time for it. If not now, then when? We started with the kitchen area, and before I knew it, we reimagined our entire space and were living in a construction zone for the next 8 months!

ELLEN: And we went to our country home and we always go there for winters. We have a huge cherry tree in the garden and we actually got to see it blooming this summer and it was so amazing. It was a good time to really appreciate it. We also did some vegetable gardening. I also just photographed everything in sight from rain drops on the leaves, to the bees, to my neighbor’s horses. And I really feel like I experienced nature in a very intense way.

IRIS: What new projects should we expect from you this year? Frederique let’s start with you.

FREDERIQUE: Yes, there’s a couple of shoots that I did. I did a story for Vogue Living on my place in upstate New York and I’m actually working on a television program. It’s a bit futuristic where we will use virtual reality. We will follow how certain products come to us. In 2D and also in 3D. For example, the artists from Studio Drift, they create amazing light art and we follow their journey through their creative process. I’ve also decided that I should write a book. It came to me while I did a ‘journey’. I will see once I start writing if it indeed moves me and if it’s something I would like to see to completion and published.

IRIS: Georgine?

GEORGINE: Actually, as I’m talking to you guys, I’m sketching some proposals for the First Lady. It’s very exciting! After redoing our space I’ve ventured into interior design besides designing collections because many of our clients that have come over to our space since we did the renovation were so enamored by the space that they asked me to help them redo their homes! I’m also working on a new spring line and trying to improve my italian by taking classes via zoom.

IRIS: And then Ellen what about your plans for 2021?

ELLEN: I am planning to do another photography book because people are still so fascinated with the time of the supermodels and I lived that time you know? I shot with Naomi when she was 16, I discovered Claudia and Eva and I have so many pictures. So, I think it’s actually a good time to pull them all out. The glamourous fashion from the nineties in a book will be my next project. I also got asked to do a very exciting project which is to create a cabaret burlesque show in Los Angeles in a very special venue. It’s not really what I do but why not? I want to try different things, so why not? It’s good to go in a bit of a different direction sometimes. Everyone is going to be so ready to go out, so I’m super excited about it.

Frederique with designer Georgine

Photography: Ellen von Unwerth @ellenvonunwerth

Model: Frederique van der Wal @frederiquevdwal

Makeup: Romero Jennings @romerojennings

Clothing: Georgine @georginestudio

LUCA LUCI BY GABE ARAUJO

Trench, Shirt, Tie, Hat by SAINT LAURENT, Sunglasses by MIU MIU

24 Hours in New York
Photo – Gabe Araujo @gabearaujo
Style – John Moore @johnmoorestyles
Hair – Mark Alan @mark.alan.hair
Skin – Anahita Roshna
Model – Luca Luci @luca_the_dude @dnamodels

Jacket – FAITH CONNEXION, Cap – HERMES

 

Shirt & Pant – LOUIS VUITTON

 

Jacket, hat, sweater (worn as scarf) – COMME DES GARÇONS HOMME, Shirt – RICK OWENS

 

Shirt, Tee & Pant – ALEXANDER MCQUEEN

 

Shirt & Sweater – GUCCI, Sunglasses – DUNHILL

 

Jacket – FAITH CONNEXION

 

Tank – JUNYA WATANABE, Sunglasses – CARTIER

 

Shirt & Shorts – MAISON VALENTINO

Jacket, Shirt & Pant – DSQUARED2, Boots – DOC MARTENS

 

 

 

Briefs – TOM FORD

 

Jacket – VIVIENNE WESTWOOD, Hat – RICK OWENS

 

 

 

BRITTANY NOON BY KIMBER CAPRIOTTI

 

Photographer: Kimber Capriotti @kimbercapriotti
Model: Brittnay Noon @brittanynoon @womenmanagementny
Stylist: Lucci @lucci_world_
Makeup: Sarah Fiorello @sarah_fiorello
Hair: Keita @keitahair
Casting: Chad Thompson @communa_k

 

Faux Fur Coat – Pavlina Jauss, Bodysuit and Scarf – Soid Studios Hat, Boots – Stylists’ own

 

Coat – Mikage Shin, Dress and Skirt – Soid Studios, Belt & Boots – Stylists’ own

 

Suit – Manuri, Hat – Heather Marie Designs, Shoes & Accessories – Stylists’ own

 

Boilersuit – GCDS, Earrings – Kusi.K, Boots – Stylists’ own

 

Dress – Dur Doux, Gloves – Vex Clothing, Boots – Rossi

Hat – Halo Mimi, Dress – Voni Studio, Boots – Rossi

 

Hat – Halo Mimi, Top & Skirt – Voni Studio, Boots – Dolce Vita, Choker – Stylists’ own

 

Dress – Cessani, Bodysuit – Stylists’ own, Boots – Rossi

STUDIO 54 ON TOP OF THE WORLD!

STUDIO 54 ON TOP OF THE WORLD!

On Saturday, December 7th the New York glitterati from the worlds of Art, Fashion, and Nightlife mingled with the society set from Zurich in a Studio 54 themed gala atop One World Trade.

The event, to celebrate the Swiss beauty innovators Haleh and Goli Abivardi, culminated with a private concert by Boy George.  Transforming the entire floor of the event space ASPIRE, MAO PR outfitted the cavernous space with 15 foot high disco ball inspired islands, a 25 foot LED wall projecting pulsating lights which synced with the retro disco music played and even recreated Studio 54 famous Moon with the coke spoon (replacing the spoon with a toothbrush with a nod to the Abivardi sister’s dental care brand).

Guests, who took the 70s dress code to heart, included Lynn Ban, Michael Musto, Peter Davis, James Aguiar, Gabriella Forte, Grazia D’Annunzio, Edmundo Castillo, Stephen Knoll, Shannon Hoey, Christopher Makos, Mathew Yokobosky, Miss Jay Alexander, Susanne Bartsch, model Dara Allen, Dianne Brill, Romero Jennings, Victoria Hayes, Joey Arias, Freddie Leiba, Amanda Lepore and the original Studio 54’s very own Carmen D’Alessio.

All photos courtesy Andrew Werner

Dara Allen

Robert Christy as Divine

Amanda Lepore

Lynn Ban

Corey Grant Tippin

Miss Jay Alexander

Agent Wednesday

Jonte Moaning

Kyle Farmery

Cheng

Michael White

Nadja Giramata

Dianne Brill

Susanne Bartsch

Kenny Kenny

Connie Fleming

Yana Dobroliubova,Valou Weemering, Luisa Laemmel, Grace Valentine

Goli Abivardi, Boy George, Haleh Abivardi

All photos courtesy Andrew Werner

YAYOI KUSAMA: EVERY DAY I PRAY FOR LOVE | DAVID ZWIRNER GALLERY NYC

©YAYOI KUSAMA. Courtesy Ota Fine Arts, Victoria Miro, and David Zwirner

November 9–December 14, 2019537 West 20th Street, New York
Opening reception: November 9, 6–8 PM

David Zwirner is pleased to present new work by Yayoi Kusama at the gallery’s 537 West 20th Street location in New York. The exhibition will feature new paintings, new sculptures, an immersive installation, and the debut of INFINITY MIRRORED ROOM – DANCING LIGHTS THAT FLEW UP TO THE UNIVERSE, 2019.

One of the most influential artists of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, Kusama occupies a unique position within recent art history. Since her early assimilation of pop art and minimalism in the 1960s, she has created a highly personal oeuvre that resonates with a global audience. Distinctly recognizable, her works frequently deploy repetitive elements—such as dots—to evoke both microscopic and macroscopic universes.

Installation view, Yayoi Kusama: EVERY DAY I PRAY FOR LOVE, David Zwirner, New York, 2019
Courtesy David Zwirner

The exhibition introduces new paintings in the artist’s iconic My Eternal Soul series. Created in a more intimate format on view for the first time in the United States, these works are singular explorations of line and form. Minutely detailed, yet with bold explorations of color, they are at once abstract and figurative. Framed by the paintings and addressing a similar dialectic is a large, new floor-based constellation composed of almost a hundred different stainless-steel elements. Viewers navigate an all-encompassing environment of organic-looking, cloud-like forms whose reflections envelop its audience and reinforce an impression of perpetuity and infinity.

The gallery is also pleased to debut INFINITY MIRRORED ROOM – DANCING LIGHTS THAT FLEW UP TO THE UNIVERSE, 2019, which offers an immersive and poetic experience of endless space. The continuous mirroring of the flickering lights ultimately underscores Kusama’s determination throughout her art to convey an “eternal unlimited universe [and] the eternity of interrelationships.”1

An installation of new soft sculptures will also be presented. Painted in a unified palette, these works likewise appear on the verge of figuration and denote the artist’s preoccupation throughout her career with accumulations of similar shapes.

The exhibition will be accompanied by a catalogue published by David Zwirner Books featuring texts and poems by the artist, many of which have not been published before.

Installation view, Yayoi Kusama: EVERY DAY I PRAY FOR LOVE, David Zwirner, New York, 2019
Courtesy David Zwirner

Born in 1929 in Matsumoto, Japan, Yayoi Kusama’s work has been featured widely in both solo and group presentations. She presented her first solo show in her native Japan in 1952. In the mid-1960s, she established herself in New York as an important avant-garde artist by staging groundbreaking and influential happenings, events, and exhibitions. Her work gained widespread recognition in the late 1980s following a number of international solo exhibitions, including shows at the Center for International Contemporary Arts, New York, and the Museum of Modern Art, Oxford, both of which took place in 1989. She represented Japan in 1993 at the 45th Venice Biennale, to much critical acclaim.

Major touring surveys include those organized by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and The Museum of Modern Art, New York (1998); Le Consortium, Dijon, France (2000); National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo (2004); and the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam (2008). In 2011–2012, her work was the subject of a large-scale retrospective that traveled to the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid; Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris; Tate Modern, London; and the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York. From 2012 through 2015, three major museum solo presentations of the artist’s work simultaneously traveled to major museums throughout Japan, Asia, and Central and South America. In 2015, the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art in Humlebæk, Denmark, organized a comprehensive overview of Kusama’s practice that traveled to Henie-Onstad Kunstsenter, Høvikodden, Norway; Moderna Museet, Stockholm; and Helsinki Art Museum. In 2017–2019, a major survey of the artist’s work, Infinity Mirrors, was presented at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, DC; Seattle Art Museum; The Broad, Los Angeles; Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto; The Cleveland Museum of Art, Ohio; and the High Museum of Art, Atlanta, Georgia. Yayoi Kusama: Life Is the Heart of the Rainbow, which marked the first large-scale exhibition of Kusama’s work presented in Southeast Asia, opened at the National Gallery of Singapore in 2017 and traveled to the Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art in Brisbane, Australia and the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Nusantara, Jakarta.

Installation view, Yayoi Kusama: EVERY DAY I PRAY FOR LOVE, David Zwirner, New York, 2019
Courtesy David Zwirner

Yayoi Kusama: LOVE IS CALLING is currently on view at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, through February 7, 2021. From October 2019 through January 2020, the Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami will present the artist’s Infinity Mirrored Room entitled All the Eternal Love I Have for the Pumpkins. Kusama’s INFINITY MIRRORED ROOM MY HEART IS DANCING INTO THE UNIVERSE will be on view permanently beginning in October 2019 at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Arkansas. The New York Botanical Garden, New York will present a selection of significant works by the artist from May 2, 2020, through November 1, 2020.

During the month of October 2019, a large-scale sculpture conceived by Kusama for the Place Vendôme will be installed as part of FIAC’s Hors les Murs, the annual initiative that gives carte blanche to artists to create major public artworks. Installed near the Column Vendôme, Life of the Pumpkin Recites, All About the Biggest Love for the People (2019) is a giant inflatable pumpkin sculpture covered with Kusama’s signature polka-dot pattern. The work expands on several of the most recognizable motifs of Kusama’s visual language and is the artist’s largest inflatable sculpture to date. Life of the Pumpkin Recites, All About the Biggest Love for the People is co-presented by Victoria Miro, Ota Fine Arts, and David Zwirner.

A museum dedicated to the artist’s work, the Yayoi Kusama Museum, opened on October 1, 2017, in Tokyo with the inaugural exhibition Creation Is a Solitary Pursuit, Love Is What Brings You Closer to Art. From October 10, 2019, through January 31, 2020, the museum will present its fifth exhibition featuring the artist’s work, entitled SPIRITS OF AGGREGATION.

Kusama has been represented by David Zwirner since 2013. Work by the artist is held in museum collections worldwide, including the Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris; Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, DC; Los Angeles County Museum of Art; The Museum of Modern Art, New York; National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo; Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam; Tate Gallery, London; Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota; and the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; among numerous others. Kusama lives and works in Tokyo.

Installation view, Yayoi Kusama: EVERY DAY I PRAY FOR LOVE, David Zwirner, New York, 2019
Courtesy David Zwirner

BRYANT STREET

Top by Harris Reed, Pant by Jamal Studios, Shoes by MM6 Maison Margiela, Bow by Montana

Photographer: Kimber Capriotti @kimbercapriotti
Model: Leah Svoboda @leahsvoboda, @anthmmgmt
Stylist: Molly Haring @mollyruthharing_styling
Hair and Make-Up: Lydia Brock @lydiabrock
Style Assistant: Shane Mastel @mastonianwarlord

On the Left: Kimono by Jamal Studios, Bodysuit by Montana, Leggings by Off-White, Boots by Ganni, Balaclava by Jean Paul Gaultier
On the Right: Scarf by Jamal Studios

Top by Montana, Earring by Marni

Dress by Ganni, Shoes y Nike X Undercover React Element 87 Sneakers

On the Right: Dress by Ganni
On the Left: Blazer by Montana, Hat by Harris Reed

GRUNGE SHANGHAI

 

Trenchcoat by C+plus Series, Shoes by MISBHV

Photographer/ Videographer: Yuti Chang @yutiphotography
Fashion Stylist: Avivi Wang @aviviwang
Make-up Artist: Jonathan Wu @jonathanbyjwmakeup
Hair Stylist: David Z.
Model: Mengwei Luo with Longteng Model Management
Photography Assistant: Jianjun
Styling Assistant: Danney Li


Top by Private Policy, Dress by C+plus Series, Skirt by Angus Chiang, Shoes by Dr. Martens

 

On the Left: Entire Outfit by C+plus Series, Shoes by Yeezy from Canal St.
On the Right: Entire Outfit by C+plus Series, Shoes by Converse

 

Entire Outfit by C+plus Series, Shoes by Dr. Martens

 

 

Entire Outfit by C+plus Series, Shoes by MISBHV

 

 

Entire Outfit is Stylist’s Own

Top by MISBHV, Body Chain by Justine Clenquet,  Skirt by C+plus Series, Bottom by C+plus Series, Shoes by Converse

 

 

Top by Angus Chiang, Bottom by C+plus Series, Shoes by Yeezy from Canal St.

 

 

Entire Outfit is Stylist’s Own

 

ALIX ANGJELI BY DENNIS STENILD

 

Top by Litkovskaya

Photographer: Dennis Stenild @dennisstenild
Stylist: Julia Morris @juliamorris
Make-up: Moises Ramirez @moisesartnyc for MAC Cosmetics
Manicurist: MoMo @ohmynailsnyc @SeeManagement
Producer: Sheri Chiu @sheri.chiu
Talent: Alix Angjeli @alixangjeli @thelionsny
Stylist Assistant: Bethany Mong @bethanymong
Make-up Assistant: Aya Tariq @ayaa.tariq

In Eastern Europe, especially in Ukraine, each part of the national costumes have a sacred and often magical meaning to it. Shawls in particular have taken a special place in society and are still kept and worn by older generations. These headpieces are made from vintage shawls passed down to me by my grandmother who lived in a small Ukrainian village all her life. The 60-year-old pieces travelled with me all the way to New York City and had been given a second life by being transformed into wearable art objects. Inspired by the fast paced megapolis, these headpieces can change shape easily, symbolizing the flexibility and constantly changing energy of New York. Moreover, they still preserve the magic and spirit of the small Ukrainian village and the memories from my childhood. For me, this is the true task of fashion – with each season, providing a new perspective on something timeless.

Julia Morris (Stylist)

Dress by Videmus Omnia

Top by Hisaura

Dress by Hisaura

Top by Litkovskaya

AINA

Earrings: Iris Trends @eyeofiris | Dress: One Trieu Yeu @onetrieuyeu

Photographer/Director: Benjo Arwas @ Seen Artists | Styling: Maison Privee | | Model: Aina Faro @ MP Model Management | Hair and Makeup: Nicole Chew @ Art Department | Cinematography: Josh Hammaren

Earrings: Iris Trends @eyeofiris | Dress: One Trieu Yeu @onetrieuyeu

Jewelry: Iris Trends @eyeofiris

Left side: Jewelry: Iris Trends @eyeofiris | Dress: One Trieu Yeu @onetrieuyeu

Right side: Dress: Masaki Matsuka @masakimatsuka

Dress: One Trieu Yeu @onetrieuyeu | Earrings and Necklace: Iris Trends

Dress: Masaki Matsuka @masakimatsuka

Dress: One Trieu Yeu @onetrieuyeu | Earrings and Necklace: Iris Trends

Dress: Masaki Matsuka @masakimatsuka