Collective Inspiration is organized by Phoenix Art Museum. It is made possible through the generosity of The Kelly Ellman Fashion Design Endowment Fund, and Arizona Costume Institute, with additional support from the Museum’s Circles of Support and Museum Members.
ABOUT THE EXHIBITION
Drawing from the Museum’s collection of more than 20,000 objects, Collective Inspiration showcases eight fashion ensembles and accessories spanning the 20th century that are paired with paintings, sculptures, and more. Each pairing includes interpretive texts written by various Museum curators to shed light on how traditional elements of art and design, including color, value, line, form, and texture, can be applied to fashion objects as well as more traditionally recognized forms of art.
IMAGE CREDIT
Rei Kawakubo for Comme des Garçons, Dress and shoes, spring/summer 2018 look #13. Inkjet printed polyester velvet, leather. Collection of Phoenix Art Museum. Museum purchase with funds provided by Arizona Costume Institute; Jan van Dalen, Still Life: Vanitas (Naturaleza muerta: Vanitas), c. 1665. Oil on oak panel. Collection of Phoenix Art Museum, Museum purchase with funds provided by Friends of European Art.
Featured objects in the exhibition include a suit by American designer Ralph Rucci paired with a work of a similar hue and exacting technical precision by contemporary Japanese sculptor Fujikasa Satoko, in addition to a dress by Rei Kawakubo for Comme des Garçons placed in conversation with a still-life painting by 17th-century Flemish artist Jan van Dalen. The exhibition also presents an Op-Art painting by Victor Vasarely alongside a suit by Alexander McQueen, both of which rely on linear, geometric patterns to create optical illusions of movement and vibration, while the pairing of the fashion collection’s oldest objects, a pair of gloves from the 1640s decorated with handmade metal lace, and a portrait of Doña Maria Moreno y Buenaventura from 18th-century Mexico explores the evolution of lacemaking and its detailed rendering in portraiture.
IMAGE CREDIT
Mariano Fortuny y Madrazo, Blue velvet coat with gold stenciled painted design (Abrigo de terciopelo azul con diseño pintado en oro), 1934. Silk velvet stenciled with metals. Collection of Phoenix Art Museum. Gift of Mrs. Anne Robinson; Tiffany and Company, Favril Vase, 1921. Glass. Collection of Phoenix Art Museum. Gift of Edward Jacobson. (Top) Fujikasa Satoko, Movement of Nature, 2013. Stoneware. Collection of Phoenix Art Museum. Gift of Carol and Jeffrey Horvitz; Ralph Rucci, Jacket (Saco), spring 2009. Double-faced wool crepe and netting. Collection of Phoenix Art Museum. Gift of Diane Halle.
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New exhibition at Phoenix Art Museum pairs fashion designs with paintings, sculptures, and photographs to answer the question, “Is fashion art?”
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Featuring more than 20,000 objects, the collection spans the globe, bringing the world to our city, and our city to the world.
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