"Dress Matters: Clothing as Metaphor." Kate Daudy The Diary 2017

Dress Matters: Clothing as Metaphor examines clothing in art as symbols of power and identity. At once functional and aesthetic, garments are worn to protect the body from the elements, enhance the beauty of the wearer, establish rank in society, and signal to others our differences or similarities.

More than 50 artists are represented in the exhibition, including: Sama Alshaibi, Laura Schiff Bean, Joseph Beuys, Willie Birch, Christian Boltanski, Robert Bracketti, Bob Carey, Nick Cave, John Coffer, Maureen Connor, John Singleton Copley, Béatrice Coron, Kate Daudy, Claudio Dicochea, Jim Dine, Simon Donovan, Bailey Doogan, Jay Dusard, Johann George Edlinger, Angela Ellsworth, Fausto Fernandez, Julia Fullerton-Batten, Adam Fuss, Guna Culture, Panama, Valerie Hammond, George E. Huffman, Illman Brothers, Graciela Iturbide, Susan Jamison, Benjamin M. Johnson, Walt Kuhn, Karen LaMonte, Robert Longo, Annie Lopez, Robert Mapplethorpe, Robyn Stoutenburg McDaniels, Richard Mosse, Mark Newport, Catherine Opie, Ruth Orkin, Ebony G. Patterson, Barbara Penn, Wendy Red Star, Miriam Schapiro, Raghubir Singh, Jaune Quick-to-See Smith, Raphael Soyer, Agata Stoinska, Andy Warhol.

Daudy made this work thanks to her friend Grant White who found the couture wedding dress in a charity shop and brought it to her as a gift to work on. They went on to have a show together at the Marie-Victoire Poliakoff Gallery rue de Seine Paris. The confidence Grant White gave the artist with his generosity, talent and belief in her set her on her way.

Curator Dr Julie Sasse discusses the exhibition

Review

Clothing as Art article

Exhibition catalogue with essays by Julie Sasse; Katie Sweeney; Jeremy Mikolajczak; Katie Graff.