Virgil Abloh: Figures of Speech

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In the archives section, more than 1,800 never-before-seen images pulled from the artist's personal files reveal the remarkable breadth of his influences and collaborations.

The show — loosely broken into sections like architecture, music, design, and fashion — still holds the clothing racks full of pieces from Abloh’s first fashion venture, Pyrex Vision, and the Milan-based label that he founded in 2013, Off-White.Abloh’s aesthetic and use of text on sneakers has also made its way onto other non-Nike x Off-White products, like the “Not for Resale” Air Jordan 1 and versions of the Nike Blazer. Private collection“Temperature” was presented in 2017 at the height of the refugee crisis in Europe. It’s a method that the space’s designer, Samir Bantal, the director of think tank AMO, says comes from Abloh’s background as an architect.

And so in a way, you’re greeted with his voice and this idea of community, of breaking down the barriers between different sorts of canons.It’s the purist that says, ‘I know everything about anything,’ and that’s what keeps the art world, fashion world, anything strong—by fending out any sort of tourist,” Abloh said at a press conference for the museum in New York.

The exhibition also showcases many of Abloh's collaborations, including work with sportswear brand Nike, furniture brand Ikea and celebrities such as Jay-Z, Beyoncé and Kanye West. She selected poetry by Ghayath Almadhoun, Omid Shams, Anna Świrsczyńska, and others to scroll across a screen as the show’s backdrop.Abloh enlisted contemporary artist Jenny Holzer to create video projections of poems about the refugees’ plight. Abloh used collaged elements, transparent materials, self-referential labels, tabs, and zip ties to emphasize the shoes’ construction, inviting people to take a second look at these iconic sneakers.

Yet, unlike typical exhibits, there is barely any signage accompanying the pieces, as if inviting viewers to be a “ tourist or a purist,” a point of view that Abloh employed during his design process. A celebration of the work of a prolific creator who succeeded not just by bringing his own visions to life but by sharing the blueprint for others to do the same for themselves. DELMONICO BOOKS/MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART CHICAGO Virgil Abloh: Figures of Speech Edited with text by Michael Darling. In large part, “Figures of Speech” is an art exhibition rooted in advertising and “the projected image”. What’s more important to Abloh at this point in his career is bigger than any particular sneaker collab.His artwork has also been the subject of an exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago, USA.