WIND SCULPTURES

I fell in love with the work of Yinka Shonibare MBE during graduate school, when I was writing my Master’s thesis on clothing in contemporary art.  Shonibare’s work is centered around the use of Dutch Wax textiles, exported from the Netherlands for African markets. The fabric is widely accepted as a symbol of African culture, but really signifies colonization and the merging of cultures, which is a very central theme to Shonibare’s work and his persona as an English Nigerian. I’ve followed Shonibare’s career very closely since 2008, and have had the privilege to see his work in person in New York, Philadelphia, Washington, DC, and as of this weekend, in Chicago. For his MCA Plaza Project, Shonibare created large scale Wind Sculptures that resemble flowing pieces of Dutch Wax fabric undulating in the breeze of nearby Lake Michigan.

Dutch wax dress: thrifted

Dutch wax sandals: Etsy

Handbag: Marc by Marc Jacobs

Sunglasses: Duane Reade

Photos by Kristen Seay at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago.

WARM UP 2014

Even though the weather is already cooling down, you still have a few more chances to Warm Up at MoMA PS1.  The gravel courtyard of the Museum of Modern Art's contemporary outpost in Long Island City swarms with trendy folks on Saturday afternoons, grooving to one of many DJ sets and posing for photos.  You'll also get to explore The Living's installation in the courtyard, the winner of this year's Young Architects Program.  The installation is called Hy-Fi and is made of 100% organic materials, all self-contained and produced.  You can read more about it here or just head over to PS1 on Saturday.

Check out my outfit from last year's Warm Up here.

Tunic: Mara Hoffman
Chambray pants: J. Crew
Shoes: Belle by Sigerson Morrison
Sunglasses: Duane Reade

My dear friend Katie, founder of the dating website Clycked, kindly shot these photos & facilitated mingling.  Thanks to Hannah Kauffman for providing gratis tickets!

MARC QUINN FLORALS

Under the Volcano, Acavar Bolivia, 2010

New Mexico Water, 2010

First Cataract of the Nile, 2010

Marc Quinn (b. 1964) is part of the YBAs (Young British Artists), a group that includes Liam Gillick, Damien Hirst, and Tracey Emin, among others.  Much of his work is larger-than-life, and deals with themes of nature, the body, and our relationship to both.

One way that Quinn explores these themes is through "genetic modification and hybridism"; in other words, using flowers as a stand in for human life.  In one of his series, he created stunning horticultural displays of frozen flowers which are able to escape decay through an electrical power source.  Similarly, in "Eternal Spring", Quinn preserves flowers indefinitely by soaking them in silicone.  The paintings depicted here are eerily pristine, capturing an otherworldly perfection and simultaneously bringing to mind the constant decay that surrounds us.

See other floral posts here and here. 

Romper: Peter Pilotto for Target

Straw Hat: Purchased in St. Thomas

Marc Quinn photos from Artsy.net; photos of me by Jacque Skowvron.

GEMSTONE GEOMETRIC

This is the second time that my outfit found affinity with the work of Canadian artist Shannon Finley.  I'm drawn to the fragmented geometry of her works, both in my design sense as well as my fashion sense.  Of course, her sense of color theory adds to my fixation.

I spotted this dress in the window at J. Crew a few months ago and was pleasantly surprised to find it on Final Sale recently.  They always have the best (and most artful) prints!

Dress: J. Crew (Still available here; the colors are MUCH more vibrant in person!)

Shoes: Salvatore Ferragamo Vara (patent version available here)

Necklace: H&M

Sunglasses: Suno

Finley image from Artsy.net, photos by Kathy Paciello.

HBD, Arthur Dove

"We cannot express the light in nature because we have not the sun. We can only express the light we have in ourselves." 

Happy birthday to Arthur Dove, the author of this quote, born on this day in 1880.  Dove is often considered to be the first American abstract painter.  Outfit details and more here.