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The Arts Intel Report

Garmenting: Costume as Contemporary Art

Esmaa Mohamoud and Qendrim Hoti, Untitled (from “One of the Boys”), 2017–2018.

Mar 12 – Aug 14, 2022
2 Columbus Cir, New York, NY 10019, USA

Garmenting is not exactly designing. The practice shares certain features with fashion—it requires fabrics, is meant to cover the body, and is based on silhouettes. But as explained by Alexandra Schwartz, the show’s curator, garmenting “refers to clothing made or altered by artists and exhibited as sculpture or installation.” Containing works by 35 artists from around the world—including Louise Bourgeois, Nick Cave, and Sanford Biggers—these stunning sculptural pieces occupy two floors, and are grouped in five categories: “Functionality,” “Cultural Difference,” “Gender,” “Activism,” and “Performance.” —Jensen Davis