Ian Berry Opens Material World at the Swedish Textile Museum - Textil Museet
Ian Berry returned to Sweden, the country he lived for 5 years to open the solo exhibition Material World at Textil Museet in Borås Sweden - the National Museum of Textiles and the Nordic region’s leading museum on the subject. Ian Berry’s specific medium is denim and the famous industrial city also has a textile and denim heritage.
Textil Museet shows some of Berry’s most well-known pieces never seen in Sweden before -large (denim) ‘canvases’, made with layers of recycled jeans, creating photorealistic yet often melancholy scenes out of the indigo fabric.
To celebrate showing a large collection of his works at Textil Museet Ian Berry has collaborated with Dutch fashion designer Jonathan Christopher to create garments inspired by his most notable bodies of work; Behind Closed Doors, Hotel California and the Secret Garden installation, that will debut at the museum.
Jonathan Christopher at Material World with one of his many garments inspired by the show.
The Secret Garden installation touches on subjects such as sustainability and the environment, showing this material made from plants turning back into plants, with hanging wisteria, flowers and vines falling from the institution’s ceiling. Sustainability is also at the core of Ian Berry’s friend Lill O.Sjöberg’s innovation. Making denim wood, Twood, is the Swedish designer’s latest innovation and the pair have come together to make some special pieces to exhibit to compliment Ian Berry’s archive of work - visitors can view a guitar and drum kit, made of only TWOOD!
The Denim Drum kit made with Twood at Material World, Textil Museet
Ian Berry Needs You!
Ian Berry is asking, who is your favourite Denim Legend?
Ian Berry with the Denim Legends temporary installation at Material World, Textil Museet
It could be from the cowboy actors, 50’s rebels, the punks of the 70’s to the influencers of today. Who inspired your denim looks or who do you feel had the biggest impact on denim? Over the last year he has been asking this question, and using his wealth of knowledge from working with the material over the last 15 years has already created dozens of portraits from Brooke Shields to Bardot, Marley to Moss, McQueen to the material girl living in her material world -Madonna. As he creates one of his largest works he wants the audience to help shape it. It may even mean some of the portraits already made will get rejected so the piece will form the greatest influences from Pop Culture, making the Denim Legends.
These portraits are exhibited in an area where visitors can submit their choices and the portraits will grow over the exhibition - you can play a part in shaping it!
Curator Malena Karlsson interviewing Ian Berry at the opening of Material world at Textil Museet
“Ian Berry’s work is interesting and important on so many levels. There’s the ‘wow’ factor of the craft, the thematics, and the way in which his art shows how the textile material forms yet another dimension in art”
Malena Karlsson, Curator at the Textile Museum of Sweden.
Ian Berry appeared on the ‘30 Under 30’ list of the most influential artists in the world, has exhibited his work in both the USA and Europe, and is considered to be one of the 50 most influential people connected to the Jeans Industry. The Textile Museum of Sweden is happy to announce that the work of the artist known for his work with only denim jeans, Ian Berry will be exhibited at the Textile Museum of Sweden til May 1 2021.
visitors viewing Paradis Lost at Textil Museet Material world by Ian Berry
You can see more on this dedicated micro-site of Material World including the collaborations with Jonathan Christopher, Twood, Tonello, Cone Denim and the amazing giant Denim jacket made with Henry Wong and AGI Denim.
