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FUNDACIÓN MAPFRE presents the work of Jean Paul Gaultier for the first time in Spain, celebrating 35 years of creation by Jean Paul Gaultier. This exhibition is an essential source of inspiration for MPDClick’s S/S 14 trend Epoch which explores the evolution of the definitions of masculine and feminine empowerment. MPDClick subscribers can click here to read more.
Initiated and produced by the Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal (MBAM) this is the first international show dedicated to the designer, and aspires to be a groundbreaking project that sheds light on the artist, his work and his influence on the world.
The exhibition is more of a contemporary installation than a retrospective and features 110 couture and prêt-à-porter ensembles and over 50 sketches, accompanied by audiovisual materials, excerpts from fashion shows and interviews. Early designs and photographs testify to Jean Paul Gaultier’s daring, cutting-edge style and the genius and careful craftsmanship of his creations. This exhibition tour will present the work of JPG for the first time to the Spanish public and showcase never seen before pieces like the two iconic corsets from Madonna’s 1990 Blond Ambition World Tour.
Jean Paul Gaultier has close ties to Spain, as the designer recently admitted in an interview with the show’s curator: “I’ve worked with a number of Spanish artists, such as Pedro Almodóvar – for whom I worked with on three occasions, designing wardrobes for actresses like Rossy de Palma, Elena Anaya and Victoria Abril – and the flamenco dancer Joaquín Cortés. Spain’s unique culture, from flamenco to the Madrid Movida, has always been a source of inspiration for me. I’ve reinterpreted its bolero jackets, fans and Sevillian shawls in several collections.”
The exhibition is presented in six sections fully dissecting the designers life and work; ‘The Odyssey of Jean Paul Gaultier’ which traces the journey of the artist; ‘ The Boudoir’ offering a glimpse of Gaultier’s childhood and early influences which shaped his ideas for dressing women; ‘Skin Deep’ showcasing his limitless imagination illustrated by a fascination with skin; ‘Punk Cancan’ which illustrates the origin and development of the punk movement in London, which he discovered and embraced from its inception; ‘Urban Jungle’ presents Gaultiers multi-ethnic influences including the Bedouins of the Barbès district, New York rabbis, Chinese women dressed as flamenco dancers and many more and finally ‘Metropolis’ which explores the fields of high technology and science fiction that feature within his collections.
The exhibition kicked off in June 2011 in Montreal, after which it travelled to the Dallas museum of Fine Arts and the de Young Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. Following its stint in Madrid, the show will journey to the Kunsthal Rotterdam in the Netherlands (February-May 2013), and the Arkitekturmuseet in Stockholm (June-September 2013).
Source: AGENDA
