Ian Berry 8/14/23 Ian Berry 8/14/23

Ian Berry collaborates with Ja Rule and Musiq Soulchild in New York

In a whirlwind few weeks earlier in the year Ian Berry ended up on many flights around the world, within very short notice he ended up in New York and working with Ja Rule!

Ja’s ICONN Live app presenting the legend Musiq Soulchild on Wednesday, May 31 at Sony Music Hall in New York City, and Berry was commissioned to design the set in the Big Apple.

Known for his soulful melodies and smooth vocals, Musiq Soulchild performed his iconic album, Aijuswanaseing, in its entirety, including hits like "Just Friends (Sunny)," "Love," and "Girl Next Door," among others.

Musiq Soulchild was ‘the first-ever R&B artist in the series’ said Ja Rule. "He’s a talent for the ages, who continues to influence R&B.”

Musiq Soulchild is an American neo-soul singer. He has also been closely associated with the love of denim, as demonstrated in most of his photos, appearances and album covers – the link with Ian Berry was perfect to celebrate his career.

The VIBES concert series in NYC are executive produced by JaRule and gives musicians a platform to honour their legacies by hosting a dinner & providing a complimenting-themed atmosphere and sets as a live band accompanies them in a transformative rendition of the music their fans have grown to love. This is the way of thanking these artists for their contribution for their ICONNic contributions to this industry.

Ja Rule and Musiq Soulchild at the Vibes night at Sony Music Hall in New York

Ja Rule’s ICONN Live App is the revolutionary live-streaming entertainment marketplace that brings fans closer to their favourite celebrities, artists, athletes and influencers.

Ja Rule said that he was inspired by fellow hip-hop artist D-Nice’s Club Quarantine. Club Quarantine was a popular virtual dance party on Instagram Live that had viewers worldwide listening to new, old, underground and mainstream music.

“I saw a need for what I’ve currently built during the pandemic. I was looking at a lotta artists and we were doing virtual concerts and DJs were spinning virtually. I saw D-Nice doing his DJ sh*t and it gave people fulfillment and that good energy that we needed at that moment,” said Ja Rule. “The topic became ‘How can we tip D-Nice?’ — but we couldn’t do that through Instagram, so he put his CashApp up there. But we gotta go through a third party for that. If there was a way to do that instantly he would have made a lotta f-cking money right there!”

Currently on ICONN Live on Apple TV,and PAID catch all of previous VIBES Concert Series including Ja Rule’s PAIN IS LOVE LIVE FROM SONY HALL in celebration of the 20 anniversary of his acclaimed album; ONLY BUILT 4 CUBAN LINX, aka The Purple Tape by Raekwon and Ghostface Killah of The Wu-Tang Clan, which was named one of Rolling Stone’s “500 Greatest Albums of All Time,” LONG LIVE THE KANE featuring the iconic Big Daddy Kane and PAID IN FULL featuring Rakim, which was named “The Greatest Hip-Hop Album of All Time” by MTV in 2006. Ja Rule is continuing to add legendary artists to the VIBES 2023 lineup and ICONN Live has exciting plans for other upcoming events that will be announced in the near future.

“I want to take this series and invite other artists to perform and tell their personal journeys along with their hits,” Ja said of his plan for the concert series.

The Vibes series was to take place nationwide with a diverse roster of artist friends, such as Raekwon/Ghostface of The Wu-Tang Clan.

Ian Berry added. “It was an honour to be apart of the night and design the set and connect both our love of denim. More so I love the idea Ja has created as in today’s world of social media stars with little talent I think it is important to remember though who have it and remember those trailblazers that make life easier for others now.”

Ian Berry 1/25/18 Ian Berry 1/25/18

The Secret Garden Live on the Mother Nature Network.

Ian Berry's Secret Garden at the CMA was live on the Mother Nature Network with Starre Vartan interviewing Museum Curator Jil Weinstock and Newlin Tillotson head of Social Media.

Ian Berry 12/21/17 Ian Berry 12/21/17

Ian Berry X Tonello

Ian Berry's Secret Garden at the Children's Museum of the Arts in New York would not have been possible without the kind and expert help of Tonello in Italy.

For 35 years they have been a reference point for the most important laundry and dyeing companies and for fashion brands all over the world. And now for artist Ian Berry. And we would like to place our thanks for their support.

“We have been researching, experimenting and innovating since 1981. And we do much more than just build ‘machines’.”

Forever evolving their Technology, together with the market, they are making always reliable, safe and sustainable technology that respects the environment and that consumes less energy, few additives, and indeed little of everything. They are behind ever improving production processes all without compromising on quality

Their garment finishing machines have become established over the world for the quality of their all-Italian manufacture, and for their flexibility and top-level performance. Everything that runs through the company has the thoughts of sustainability and the environment in mind and this combined with their creativity is what drew Ian and Tonello together.

Ian had known about the Laser Technology for some time, but considered it cheating, away from his all hand made art. But as larger and larger installations came about as well as noticing the advanced tech he had a change of heart.

'I've always been proud to say, it's made by just denim, glue and hands with scissors in, no bleach, no dye, no paint. It's been a very time consuming process making the work I do. I also saw the laser machine at first with its burnt marks and often looking flat. However, with the washing techniques of someone like Tonello it can really come alive. For me its an art form in itself. After meeting Alice Tonello and Alberto Lucchin a few times we thought it was a perfect time to look into how this could help in my art. Now I see it as a no brainer for things like this, and beside, its the tools that the denim industry is increasingly using so I can too.'

Ian is all too aware of the negative impacts of the denim industry on our planet and is pleased to have worked with a company such as Tonello who is working towards a brighter blue future with methods aimed to help the environmental impact. At their base in Italy Ian had the special Cone Denim washed and lasered with effects to create texture and then lasered much of what you see in the Trellis that hung from the Secret Garden. It would have taken Ian months to hand cut it all, 'beside, it wouldn't have stayed together.' Ian adds

'it is nice that it all went into creating something that environmentally is symbolic and pure, like plants and flowers. Matching the sustainable message, but also in a kids museum, that is the future and that is the future we want, a cleaner one for the future generations. But with the Creative Room, Tonello is all about sharing knowledge and education so I think they have been a perfect partner in this project.'

Tonello's Nicola Cioffi working on Ian's designs. Don't worry, these flames went down.

Ian with Alice Tonello, marketing and R&D head at Tonello and Flavio Tonello CEO Tonello at the Creative Room in Italy.

Tonello's Nicola Cioffi finding another purpose for Ian's designs.

The Creative Room at Tonello

The Creative Room in Sarcedo, Italy is a special place and a great idea, where technology and creatives can meet from all over the world. Ian visiting a couple of times in the Fall and was welcomed and amazed.

"Inspiring" is both the place – Tonello's new Creative Area – and a way of "being Tonello" today. It is the meeting point between technology and creativity, production and research. Tonello's creations and their experiments will find more and more space: to help clients discover the effects and treatments the machines and technology and to allow customers to undertand how to get the best out of their advanced equipment and to conceive fabrics, denim in particular, as 'canvases on which to paint dreams'.

Ian went to Tonello in Italy, in a region famed for denim and both times Ian was amazed to see the denim names walking through, here with Giovanni Petrin (and Alice Tonello), expert denim insider and former general manager of the Martelli Lavorazioni Tessili Italian specialized laundry and finishing company, who is now working for Crescent Bahuman Ltd (CBL), one of the major denim and garment manufacturers in Pakistan. It is great there is a place that is a melting pot for all these people.

Ian Berry 12/10/17 Ian Berry 12/10/17

Ian Berry | NYC Museum Show | Childrens Museum of the Arts

FBsecretgarden.jpgIan Berry Childrens museum of the Arts

VIP Opening Wednesday 13th December 2017

6 - 8pm

Ian Berry will unveil his Secret Garden at the CMA on Wednesday night, all made out of denim.

Fresh from showing at Miami Basel Ian has made this site specific installation that will debut in this special museum dedicating to inspiring children to be creative and have interaction with the arts, something that Ian firmly believes in.

You will be able to walk through this magical garden with a trellis overhead, a pathway to walk through and many denim made plants.

There are many people to thank, too many for here, but special thanks go to Tonello in Italy for their expertise and technology for making all this possible and to Cone Denim for supplying White Oak Denim, NYC Factory and Christine Rucci aka Godmother NYC.

The installation goes alongside celebrated artist Ellen Harvey's Ornaments and Other Refrigerator Magnets. Ellen has previously showed at the Whitney, Turner Contemporary and the Bass in Miami.

The install will be up through to April 2018.

For the opening Kindly RSVP to mail@ianberry.art

Address

Children's Museum of the Arts 103 Charlton St. NYC 212.274.0986

Ian Berry 10/16/17 Ian Berry 10/16/17

Ian Berry X New York Denim Days

Ian was asked to show his work at the inaugural New York Denim Days. It was a great event full of all things denim, and Ian's work was the welcome exhibit into this denim land within the heart on Manhattan. It was a great chance for many in the industry and those who love denim who have seen Ian's work online or in print for years, to see a real thing. The most common comment was how different it looked to how they had perceived.

In deed, Denimology wrote 'in “real” life this British artist is just amazing' and this is from someone who has written a few articles already on Ian without seeing it in person. Sportswear International who have also covered Ian's work a lot over the years said the event was 'showing the incredible life-like “paintings” he creates entirely from denim scraps'. Journalist Christopher Blomquist had seen a piece by Ian, also in New York three years previous with the Debbie Harry commission.

Ian enjoyed the fair a lot and the interaction both with other exhibitors, the denim industry and also the public. It was great to show a 'art gallery' outside of an art gallery. Ian has been asked to write some reviews on some denim blogs so for now, we'll leave it there until those are published.

We look forward to the next denim days!

Ian Berry 9/22/17 Ian Berry 9/22/17

Ian Berry to show at New York Denim Days 2017

Ian Berry will be one of the founding exhibitors of New York Denim Days. The new event launching after three years of the festival being in Amsterdam will now have a spin off in the Big Apple, on Sept. 29 – Oct. 1.

Ian was also at the inaugural Amsterdam event in 2014, and again in 2015 and is pleased to be a part of this new event after seeing it grow from strength to strength in Amsterdam. He is looking forward to seeing it with a New York spin in this the worlds greatest city.

New York’s first Denim Days, initiated by House of Denim and organized by Modefabriek is in collaboration with Kingpins Show.

“If I close my eyes to imagine the best denim event in the world, it would be here in NYC, where I live, and it would all be about cool brands with booths, run by people who care and are passionate aboutwhat they do—whether it’s indigo dyeing or repairing jeans, embroidering them or selling you their cool brands,” Andrew Olah, founder of the Kingpins Show and co-founder of New York Denim Days

Amy Leverton of Denim Dudes and Samuel Trotman of WGSN at the Amsterdam Denim Days 2014 with Ian Berry's News Stand.

While Ian has shown all over the states and will be in Miami in December, its only th second time his works can be seen in New York, for the artist who was named a top 30 artist under 30 in the world. His works need to be seen to beleived and we are glad we can now show a brand new audience at Denim Days new york.

More about the Fair
29 September — 01 October Metropolitan Pavillion
After three years of watching from afar as European denim geeks reveled in their indigo obsessions during Amsterdam Denim Days, American denimheads will finally get to do the same. New York Denim Days will bring the denim festival concept stateside.

New York Denim Days will connect denim insiders, designers and brands to denim consumers on the Denim Days festival.

This indigo-soaked two-day shopping event at the Metropolitan Pavilion in Chelsea will include interactive displays, indigo dyeing workshops, new denim designers as well as established brands, and denim mills alongside in-store events, a vintage denim market, parties, DJ’s and panels – all geared to give consumers access to their denim heroes and heritage brands.

A one-day street bazaar will take place outside the Metropolitan Pavilion on October 1 and will include food, live entertainment, games, art, selfie stations, and more! This festival is for denim heads, fashionistas, foodies, families, tourists, teens, tweens, and of course, all New Yorkers who are true-blue denim lovers.