One of *the* most fun and fantastical exhibits closes this weekend at the Dixon Gallery & Gardens in Memphis and it is a must see: Isabelle de Borchgrave: Fashioning Art from Paper
It is just beyond. Every.single.everything is crafted from paper.
Excerpts from the press release:
Isabelle de Borchgrave: Fashioning Art from Paper is a mid-career examination of one of the most creative figures working in Europe today. Belgian contemporary artist Isabelle de Borchgrave is a painter by training, and she uses paper to recreate historic fashions to dazzling effect. De Borchgrave’s collections have been shown internationally for two decades, and now they will be on view in North America with a U.S. début in Memphis, Tennessee.
This exhibition celebrates de Borchgrave’s most iconic bodies of work, including Les Ballets Russes, Papiers à la Mode, The World of Mariano Fortuny, The Kaftans, and Splendor of the Medici, all of which illuminate 500 years of fashion history:
• On view for the first time in the U.S., Les Ballets Russes features de Borchgrave’s interpretations of the costumes designed by Léon Bakst, Giorgio de Chirico, Pablo Picasso, and others.
• With Papiers à la Mode, de Borchgrave re-imagined iconic garments from world history, including dresses worn by Madame de Pompadour, Marie-Antoinette, Elizabeth I, and Empress Eugenie.
• The World of Mariano Fortuny includes interpretations of the great master painter and designer’s iconic Grecian-styled dresses and tunics from the early 20th century, while Kaftans highlights Silk Road textiles.
• The works in de Borchgrave’s Splendor of the Medici series capture the astounding luxuriousness that characterizes this extraordinary era of intellectual, scientific, literary, and artistic accomplishments.
This special Elvis piece above will remain in the Dixon’s permanent collection after the exhibit closes.
It’s all just simply stunning and the museum has done a magnificent job.
Tiny excerpts from the artist’s biography:
The story begins in a little house in Sablon, which Isabelle turned into a studio. There, she gave drawing classes to her friends’ children and other neighbourhood children…
Following a visit to the Metropolitan Museum in New York in 1994, Isabelle dreamed up paper costumes…
The Dixon has its own exhibition catalogue available in its giftshop, and I also found these two books at Amazon that I’d love to see:
and
While at the Dixon, paper art by Justin Bowles is also on display, in another wing of the museum:
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…and be sure not to miss the Rodin outside (how could you, it’s massive):
and the Jeff Koons Smooth Egg with Bow off to the side
Besides the current exhibitions, there’s a permanent collection of 18th C. German porcelain:
…and a remarkable, remarkable small collection of paintings by Pissarro, Monet, Cassatt, Gauguin, Matisse, Chagall, and other important artists
Monet’s ‘Village Street’
Additional images from the Isabelle de Borchgrave exhibit here in my Flickr set.