A runway show featuring one-of-a-kind wearable art by Judy Bales, Kathleen Shrosbree, and Gyan Shrosbree will be held Friday, April 25, at 7 p.m., at the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art, in conjunction with the current exhibition All Dressed Up (and Down). Limited tickets for the Art in Motion benefit are still available but should be purchased soon to guarantee a seat.
The current CRMA exhibition All Dressed Up (and Down) features artworks from the museum’s permanent collection depicting clothing in many forms, organized by the museum’s curator. “All Dressed Up sparked the idea from museum staff to have a fashion show fundraiser to complement the exhibition,” says Bales. For decades, Bales has created what she calls “abstract sculptural forms from fibrous materials.” She has selected some of her favorite pieces from her wide-ranging oeuvre for this show. Her garments have been displayed in previous CRMA exhibitions, but this is the first time her creations will be displayed on live models at the museum.
Bales will be joined by mother-daughter team Kathleen and Gyan Shrosbree. “We have both been interested in clothing for as long as we can remember,” says Kathleen. “Gyan’s paintings are related to clothing and the body. Creating wearable art and paintings using the body as a framework or canvas has been one of the ways that Gyan has worked since graduate school.” Kathleen’s background in furniture design and sculpture combined with a life-long love for sewing bring a high level of craft and refinement to the table that make these pieces sculptural.
Judy Bales and the Art of Fashion
Artist and designer Judy Bales has over 30 years of experience with fiber art, fashion art, and public art design. “Fashion as an art form became an obvious way for me to combine a love of drawing the human figure, a love of working with fabrics and any material that can act like a fabric or thread, and the way dramatic or moody fashion-magazine shoots often become works of art themselves.”
Fashion hasn’t always been an accepted part of the art world. “Like many art forms—photography, ceramics, and crafts in general—it long was thought of as something separate from and not as ‘serious’ as the worlds of painting and sculpture,” says Bales. “We now know this is ridiculous. Fashion crosses over boundaries of performance art, craft, sculpture, all disciplines.”
She adds that many fashion designers use cutting-edge technology and collaborate with scientists to create works that defy classification. Fashion works “are now given their due place as works of art. In recent decades, every major art museum has included exhibitions honoring single designers or movements of fashion.”
In explaining her choice of materials, Bales says, “Artists have always gathered materials from their environment. Ancient humans gathered what was nearby—clay, pigment, and reeds, for example—and made utilitarian or art objects.”
As a contemporary artist living in a rural/urban environment, Bales is inspired by what is around her. That can include “discarded fencing from surrounding fields, fabrics scavenged from thrift stores, the horrifying abundance of plastics in our lives, or wire salvaged from industry.” She adds that “wire is particularly attractive because of its linear quality and the fact that it can be a tool for essentially drawing in 3D space.”
Bales considers both color and texture very important, although she adds, “Perhaps texture takes the lead a little in my emphasis. . . fiber is inherently textural.”
The Shrosbree Partnership
Both Kathleen and Gyan Shrosbree use traditional painting materials in their creations. Painted canvas becomes sculptural fabric pieces that “can be activated by the body and take new shape,” Gyan says. These are “paintings that move and inhabit spaces on bodies,” merging strands of fashion and visual art into something new and interactive.
Gyan’s bold, brightly colored paintings frequently feature human figures or shapes resembling shoes and other pieces of clothing. She recently created limited-edition swimsuits with the Jeff Marfa Gallery in Texas, and partnered with Kathleen to translate her work into wearable art. “This collaboration has allowed Gyan’s paintings to live on bodies with more precision and elevation,” Kathy says.
“Color is very important in my work for many reasons relating to color interaction, as well as creating energy and moving space,” Gyan says. “Color that is so bright invites the viewer in to take a closer look and keeps the viewer at a distance because of its intensity. Color acts as a protector in this way. I think of clothing as armor, giving both power and protection. Many of the tunics in this collection are heavily layered with paint, creating a rigidity akin to armor. These two qualities—protection and armor—give rise to the concept of the tunics as ‘power suits.’”
Gyan and Kathleen have found working as an artistic mother-daughter team to be “really rewarding and a truly satisfying experience.” They have similar interests and influences, while their differences complement each other, making the work stronger. “We each have our strengths, so it is fluid and exciting to exchange the work back and forth,” says Kathleen. “There is a generosity with each other, and of course, a love and respect that feels comfortable. We trust each other to be able to pull this off, no matter how much pressure we feel.”
Art in Motion Runway Show
Despite the fact that Bales and the Shrosbrees are influenced by many of the same artists and art forms, Bales says that “our resulting works are dramatically different, showing how similar inspirations can filter through different hands to create completely unique but complementary bodies of work. I believe the audience will love seeing that juxtaposition.”
The fashion show promises to be a fun, dynamic experience, involving over 30 models. “We would love to have a full audience,” says Kathleen. “We are all working hard to make the work and have fresh looks out on the runway.”
Tickets are limited for Art in Motion so that everyone has a front row seat. Tickets are $40 per person. To purchase, contact Education Director Erin Thomas at the CRMA at (319) 366-7503 or EThomas@CRMA.org. Doors open at 6 p.m., with a cocktail hour.