ANTWERP 2023 | MoMu fashion museum presents IO Van Oostveldt and Man Ray exhibitions

MoMu, Antwerp‘s fashion museum, presents two new exhibitions. ‘Geometrically Wired. IO Van Oostveldt: Between Clothing and Art‘ will run from 25 February to 30 July 2023 and ‘Man Ray and Fashion‘ from 25 April to 13 August 2023.

‘Geometrically Wired. IO Van Oostveldt: Between Clothing and Art’

‘Geometrically Wired’ highlights the life and work of Belgian artist IO Van Oostveldt, born in Antwerp in 1928. The exhibition explores her multifaceted creative work, bringing together her design drawings, clothing creations and visual art.

IO Van Oostveldt studied at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp, where she met Mark Verstockt (1930-2014). They married and had three children. Mark Verstockt would play an important role in the Belgian art scene. In the 1950s, his work was affiliated with the ZERO movement. By the mid-1960s, it had its own consistently geometric language of form. In those years, IO had begun designing and making clothing, initially for herself and later for others. By the early 1970s, her one-of-a-kind creations, often knitted pieces, were in demand. She continued to follow her own path, and developed, for example, a chenille yarn with lurex.

“I was an outsider, not a real fashion designer. I did what I wanted to do, and had no pretentions about it. I always wanted to try out things that were not available: different materials and experiments”, said IO Van Oostveldt.

Her design drawings and visual art all reveal her fascination with geometric shapes, (recuperated) materials and new techniques. Although many of her clothing designs were never realized, they give expression to a strong, avant-garde signature. As artists, Mark Verstockt and IO Van Oostveldt influenced one another’s work, but as ‘the wife of Mark Verstockt’, IO remained in the shadows as she cared for her family. This exhibition brings insight into her multisided, creative world.

Exhibition under the lead of curator MoMu: Romy Cockx. Exhibition design: Johanna Trudzinski. Graphic design: Paul Boudens.

‘Man Ray and Fashion’

From 22 April through 13 August 2023, MoMu will be highlighting the oeuvre of Man Ray (1890-1976) from the perspective of fashion.

The exhibition includes photographs he took for prominent couturiers, such as Paul Poiret, Elsa Schiaparelli and Coco Chanel, as well as for important fashion magazines, including Harper’s Bazaar, Vanity Fair and Vogue.

Man Ray was an innovator who employed technical ingenuity and humour to ultimately change the way dress would be depicted. His experimental procedures and surrealist winks of the eye brought art and fashion closer together and still influence fashion photography today. C

ontemporary fashion designers continue to find inspiration in his work, and this is especially true of Belgian fashion designers, with their predilection for Surrealism.

‘Man Ray and Fashion’ is an exhibition that unites Man Ray’s iconic photography and works of art with interbellum fashion silhouettes and the work of contemporary fashion designers and photographers inspired by his work. Among others, the exhibition includes creations by Chanel, Maison Lanvin, Madeleine Vionnet, Norine, Yves Saint Laurent, Martin Margiela, Olivier Theyskens and Dries Van Noten.

The exhibition is co-organised by MoMu and the Réunion des Musées Nationaux – Grand Palais, in partnership with the City of Marseille Museums. It was initially presented in Marseille from November 2019 to March 2020 at the Musée Cantini and at the Chateau Borély, then in Paris, at the Musée du Luxembourg from September 2020 to January 2021. MoMu reworked the exhibition concept with an adapted exhibition design, while further linking it with Belgian and contemporary fashion.

Who was Man Ray?

Born Emmanuel Radnitzky, Man Ray was an American visual artist who spent most of his career in Paris. He was a significant contributor to the Dada and Surrealist movements, although his ties to each were informal. He produced major works in a variety of media but considered himself a painter above all. He was best known for his pioneering photography, and was a renowned fashion and portrait photographer. He is also noted for his work with photograms, which he called ‘rayographs’ in reference to himself.

The Man Ray exibition under the lead of curator MoMu: Romy Cockx. Guest curators: Claude Miglietti, Catherine Örmen, Alain Sayag. Exhibition design: Ania Martchenko. Graphic design: Jelle Jespers.