Contract Magazine – Foresight 2019 - 112

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Launching the week of NeoCon, the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago
presents "Figures of Speech," the first museum exhibition devoted to the work
of the ultramodern artist and designer Virgil Abloh.

The Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago's "Figures
of Speech" exhibition will
run from June 10 to Sept. 22.
Virgil Abloh is known for his
creative career spent designing distinctive furniture, like
"Material Table," 2016 (top);
"Pink Panther: Scales of
Justice," 2019 (middle, left);
and "Hacienda Columns,"
2019 (middle, right). His
work in the fashion industry
includes his own fashion
brand Off-White (bottom
left) and designs for the Louis
Vuitton menswear collection
(bottom right).

112

Set in an immersive space designed by Samir Bantal,
a director of AMO, the research studio of Rem Koolhaas's
architecture firm OMA, "Figures of Speech" focuses
on the creative process and work of Virgil Abloh who
is redefining fashion, art, and design. Abloh pioneers
a new creative discipline that ranges across media
and is deeply collaborative, connecting visual artists,
musicians, graphic designers, fashion designers,
and architects. Organized by the Museum of
Contemporary Art Chicago's Chief Curator Michael
Darling, the exhibition runs from June 10 to Sept. 22.
"This show examines the choices Virgil has made,
the media he works with, and the context of his artistic
inspiration," Darling says. "His projects have unfurled
with intention, precision, critique, historical awareness,
cultural sensitivity, and rigor, and when taken out of
the buzzy, frothy context of luxury fashion, celebrity
mannequins, and hip-hop one-upmanship, a very
measured vision emerges."
Raised outside of Chicago by parents who
emigrated from Ghana, Virgil trained in engineering
at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and he received
his Master of Architecture at the Illinois Institute of
Technology, but from an early age expressed interest
in music, fashion, and design. His consequent career
includes work on Kanye West's creative team, his
standalone fashion brand Off-White, and most recently,
his role as artistic director of the Louis Vuitton menswear
collection. The MCA exhibition offers an in-depth
look at the highlights of his career with signature
collections, video documentation of his most iconic
shows, and his distinctive collections of furniture
and graphic design work, along with his collaborative
projects with artists such as Arthur Jafa. Following
its presentation at the MCA, Virgil Abloh: "Figures
of Speech" will travel to select venues nationally
and internationally, including the ICA Boston
and the High Museum in Atlanta -LAUREN VOLKER

contractdesign.com

FORESIGHT 2019

PHOTOGRAPHY: KATRINA WITTKAMP (HEADSHOT); COURTESY OF VIRGIL ABLOH (FURNITURE PIECES); ENRICO RANZATO (OFF-WHITE AND LOUIS VUITTON)

NEOCON 2019
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Contract Magazine – Foresight 2019

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