(From left to right: Patricia Field and Gazelle Paulo, Iris Barbee Bonner for These Pink Lips, Jorge Clar for Scooter LaForge)
Howl! Happening, an Arturo Vega Project is a great place for me to see my visions come to fruition. I’m grateful for this space where I can express myself without reservation.
I’ve been working with Patricia Field for five years and have had a very successful run with my hand painted art wear. Pat and I communicate on a daily basis; she has nurtured my collection hands-on, resulting in the success of this movement we’ve created.
I met Pat while silk screening shirts at a Spank party in Brooklyn. At the time I had been wearing a Gucci belt fake of course (I don’t think she realized back then!) as I had always wanted to look my best wherever I went. She invited me to have a small pile of t-shirts in her brick and mortar store. Fast forward five years and these pieces have been worn by the likes of Beyoncé, Madonna, Miley Cyrus, and Debbie Harry, to name a few. The garments have made their way to the pages of magazines like Vogue, i-D, W, and T.
Pat and I both see a great future in art wear. We get constant comments from fans and other artists who are interested in the medium. I relish the idea of people who become walking art galleries in New York and all over the world.
Individualism is the future, where people express themselves through personal style-a gift for all to see. The notion of fast fashion is passé.
Currently, Howl! Happening is exhibiting Insults, a show by Arturo Vega comprised of clean, graphic, meticulously executed “word paintings” that could not be more relevant in our present world of turbulence and transition.
It is no coincidence these Art/Fashion pieces will be hung in front of Vega’s paintings. I never met him personally, but feel in some way he has manifested this juncture so the garments are shown within the context of his strong conceptual works.
Pat and I have put our heart and soul into this show. We could not be prouder of the work of all the participating artists: Suzan Pitt, Jody Morlock, Iris Barbee Bonner, Thomas Knight, Suzanne Mallouk, and Kyle Brincefield. Having worked with some of the most brilliant New York-based artists throughout the decades, Pat’s genius style and dynamic energy have helped shape our visual culture.
I believe art-fashion is a movement, and one day these painted garments will hang in the world’s most important museums.
Scooter LaForge’s exhibition How to Create A Monsterpiece opened at Howl! Happening in fall of 2015. View How to Create A Monsterpiece on youtube, video by Darian Brenner.
Art/Fashion will be on view at Howl! Happening from the 25 through the 27. Patricia Field and the artists of Art/Fashion will be at the gallery at 3pm on the 27 for a panel discussion. Howl! Happening is located at 6 East 1st Street, NYC.
