Out of Fashion. Textile in International Contemporary Art

Textiles are one of the oldest, most colourful materials in the history of art. As clothing, furniture and carpets they have shaped the body and provided expression for the most intimate parts of our daily life. And today, artists all over the world create soft works with sharp edges. With the exhibition Out of Fashion – Textiles in Contemporary Art, KUNSTEN shows how clothes create art.

As tapestries and carpets textiles have had a profound influence on dwellings and buildings down through the ages. And as clothing, hats and handicraft they have shaped the body and created narratives of identity, profession and origins among high and low.

Textiles are now back as a material in international contemporary art. All over the world, artists are creating soft works with sharp messages, and the craft has acquired the nature of a political statement. Out of Fashion – Textiles in Contemporary Art presents a number of the most outstanding artists who work with fabric, fashion and the body as living sculpture in their works. And the exhibition gives an impression of the endless potential of fabrics to resemble and imitate – and even so to turn the world inside-out and pave the way for new narratives.

Out of Fashion points to the link between art and clothing and to the handicraft itself as a typically female occupation. Precisely handicraft – embroidery, crochet work and sewing have in recent years become synonymous with a kind of anti-art, or rebel-art, where female artists use the craft to convey political and social messages. At Out of Fashion one can meet the craft as a reflection on stereotypes and conventions about the body in works by such artists as Gudrun Hasle (DK), Erwin Wurm (A) and Cosima von Bonin (D).

Participating artists

Alice Creischer (D), Brian Getnick (US), Cosima von Bonin (D), Elmgreen & Dragset (DK/NO), Erwin Wurm (A), Grayson Perry (UK), Sonja Gomes (BR), Gudrun Hasle (DK), Hotel Pro Forma (DK), Institute For Figuring (US), Kaarina Kaikkonen (FIN), Lilibeth Cuenca Rasmussen (DK), Maiken Bent (DK), Moran Sanderovich (IL), Nicholas Hlobo (ZA), Yinka Shonibare MBE (UK), Zac Monday (US)

The exhibition is curated by Mads Damsbo, Gl. Holtegaard and co-curator Stinna Toft, KUNSTEN.

The exhibition is organised in cooperation with Gl. Holtegaard.

The exhibition is supported by Det Obelske Familiefond and the Danish Arts Council.