Art Materialism is a collective of internationally renowned artists known for their use of unorthodox materials – denim and tulle on the textile side, but also car upholstery, wallpaper, reused metal and old sneakers. They include Ian Berry, who is also the curator, Justin Ruby, Benjamin Shine, Matt Small, Lill O. Sjöberg, Peter Combe, Christian Faur, Matt Small, David Wightman and Max Zorn.
They are exhibiting together for the first time at the Catto Gallery in London: The exhibition “Art Materialism” opens tomorrow, October 19th, and runs until November 6th, 2023.
“They have evolved their chosen medium beyond novelty and perfected their craft,” said a press release. “These artists now exhibit in museums and galleries around the world and work with major brands such as John Galliano, Levi’s, The MET, Givenchy, Maison Margiela, Bergdorf Goodman, Polo Ralph Lauren, Ray Ban, The FA and Home Depot together.”
“Creating something bigger than all of us”
Parallels are drawn with the Italian art movement Arte Povera, which emerged in major Italian cities at the end of the 1960s. Literally translated, this means “poor art” as the artists used earth, rags and twigs to create their works of art. Their aim was to question and disrupt the values of the commercialized contemporary gallery system.
“I think it’s good to join forces; to create something bigger than all of us and to create something new. “I prefer to do this and grow together and help each other, because everything good that has happened in my career has been because other artists have helped me,” says curator and artist Ian Berry FashionUnited.
Art Materialism artists gravitate towards abundant and easily accessible materials available in an even more commercialized world. The exhibition features works made from materials as diverse as denim, packing tape, sneakers, car upholstery, scrap metal, wallpaper, tulle, crayons and blobs of paint.
“I met artists at art fairs around the world, for example at Miami Basel, and found that I was always drawn to artists who had created works from materials that no one had tried to use before had. We all had to teach ourselves how to use them,” Berry explains in the statement.
“I wanted to bring these artists together because it is important to me that we support each other. As an artist, you’re often lonely, especially with our time-consuming, detailed work, so it’s good to come together,” adds Berry, who creates artwork that looks like paintings made of denim. One of his most recent works, a huge denim mural, was commissioned by Levi’s and has been seen in Paris, Milan and Madrid.
Artwork made from old sneakers
Pennsylvania native Justin Ruby began his experiments in school in the early 2000s, when he turned his pair of Air Jordan 7 French Blues into a self-portrait. It was intended for a college application, but it turned into much more.
Sticking with this technique, Ruby later added materials from Louis Vuitton bags to Tootsie Pop packaging and gained national attention. His customers include hip-hop greats like Lil Durk, J Prince and Drake. He also took part in the NFT boom with his sold-out “100 Acre Wood” drop on OpenSea. The Art Materialism exhibition is his first exhibition outside the United States.
“There will be sneaker exchanges, sneaker fairs and of course all the sneaker brands that want to work with him,” is Berry’s prediction for Ruby’s future, who is the youngest of the artists. “I want to help him get through this. I don’t have all the answers, but that’s the point – I’ve done a lot of things wrong and I want him to learn from my mistakes because I don’t want him to go through the same thing,” Berry explains.
Portraits made of tulle
British-born Benjamin Shine is best known for his groundbreaking works in tulle. He developed his unique technique while studying fashion at the Surrey Institute of Art and Design and later at Central St. Martins. While he was initially obsessed with creating clothing from a single piece of fabric, he eventually saw even greater potential in using fabric as a medium through which he could express ideas away from the body. He chose tulle when he happened to spot a crumpled ball of it on the studio floor. Shine then developed a method in which he presses a single piece of tulle fabric under glass to create unique and striking portraits.
“I consider myself a creative explorer and inventor. I am an ideas person, and although my work is often classified as art, painting, sculpture or design, it is all a form of invention and creative thinking. If the end result elicits the reaction of “How?” or “Wow!”, then I am satisfied that it has made a connection and had a positive impact,” explains Shine.
Shine’s work has been exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Arts and Design New York and the London Design Museum. His clientele and collaborators include Beyonce, Givenchy, Maison Margiela, Bergdorf Goodman, Google, MTV and others.
A new material made from denim
Gothenburg-based artist Lill O. Sjöberg has gone so far in her commitment to reusing unwanted materials that she has created an entirely new medium that she calls “Twood.” She describes it as “a sustainable material made from discarded jeans; a hybrid of textile and wood that celebrates the beauty of denim.”
In her opinion, the material is “a tribute to the mythical stories and aesthetics of denim, but also a contribution to a circular future.” The designer (MFA) and expert in sustainable design and circular processes has created amazing works from this new raw material, including a drum kit and a guitar, which were exhibited next to Ian Berry’s Record Store at the Swedish National Museum of Textiles in 2021. She has been working on topics related to textile waste and materials research since 2013 and has a passion for denim.
“Working with Lill is fantastic. She is an amazing artist, designer and innovator – she invented a technique to make ‘denim wood’. What she then does with this ‘wood’ is incredible because it has even better properties than wood,” says Berry when asked by FashionUnited what it was like to work with another ‘denim artist’ – a term that which he does not necessarily refer to himself.
“In the guitar and violin world, for example, they’ve found that Lill’s Twood actually sounds better than mahogany, and there’s a shortage of mahogany in the world. That should have interesting implications,” he adds.
Art Materialism presents nine artists
Also on display are works by San Francisco-based Canadian artist Peter Combe, who creates portraits from household paints, Ohio artist Christian Faur, who creates pixelated artwork from thousands of colored pencils, London-based artist Matt Small, who uses repurposed metal, and Stockholm-based artist Matt Small born artist David Wightman, who creates imaginary vistas out of textured wallpaper, and Dutch street artist Max Zorn, who uses nothing more than packing tape and a scalpel to create stunning city scenes.
“When we set up the work yesterday, it was interesting to see how people were captivated. The gallery was closed, but the works of art were hanging in the window and everyone who passed by stopped to look at them. I think that’s a really rare thing that I’ve observed in my work over the years, but all of our work has that kind of appeal,” concludes Berry.
The Art Materialism exhibition will be on view at the Catto Gallery in London from October 19th to November 6th, 2023.