Ian Berry | MATERIAL WORLD | Textil Museet Sweden
Paradise Lost
TEXTIL MUSEET
23 - October 2021 - 1 May 2022
Skaraborgsvägen 3, 506 30 Borås, Sweden
In October Ian Berry will return 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.
Works from Behind Closed Doors all made in denim, that Jonathan Christopher will use as inspiration.
Textil Museet will show 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.
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.
Ian Berry’s Secret Garden at Museum Rijswijk in The Netherlands. Ian Berry works with Tonello in Italy and Cone Denim to create the hanging Trellis.
Ian Berry Needs You!
Ian Berry is asking, who is your favourite Denim Legend?
Steve McQueen, Brooke Shields and Clint Eastwood are Denim Legends. Who joins them?
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 will be exhibited in an area where visitors can submit their choices and the portraits will grow over the exhibition!
From Textil Museet Svensk 🇸🇪
“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, says.
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 this autumn!
It’s not a photograph, it's jeans!
At first sight, it is easy to mistake Berry’s work for blue- or indigo-tinted photographs, but a closer look reveals that they are made up of layer upon layer of denim in different shades. The contrasts between the different shades of blue visible in a pile of old jeans were the genesis of Berry’s unique art form. Soon, he began to explore the possibilities offered by the material and create photorealistic artworks. Berry only uses upcycled denim in his works. No colouring agents or bleach are used – only scissors, glue, and second-hand jeans.
When working with denim he began to understand the significance of his own and others’ relationship with the material, which is one that we are all very familiar with. Ian is of the opinion that the fact that that denim is highly recognisable opens doors to understanding and identification. His works reflect on contemporary events and phenomena but also refer back to the cultural history of jeans.
Ian Berry in his Living room art installation all made of denim jeans at Museum Rijswijk, The Netherlands
‘30 Under 30’ most influential artists in the world
Ian quickly became one of the most talked-about young artists, Art Business News listed him as one of the most influential artists in the world by including him in their ‘30 Under 30’ list in 2013 and In 2019, he was recognised by the denim magazine Rivet as one of the 50 most influential people in the denim industry.
Berry was born and raised in Huddersfield, England, which like Borås has a long-standing textile tradition. Ten years ago Ian moved to Sweden and exhibited his art at galleries in Skåne and Motala. Since then his art has been exhibited all over the world, most recently at Museum Rijswijk in the Netherlands and in Genoa, the Italian city that leant its name to this favourite garment, jeans. The Textile Museum of Sweden is the first Swedish museum to exhibit a large, in-depth exhibition of Ian Berry’s works.
Jonathan Christopher
The Twood Guitar
About Jonathan Christopher
Jonathan Christopher (Hofwegen) Celestial Risher is a menswear designer who is graduated from the Willem de Kooning Academy in 2009. After which he did his MA at Artez in Arnhem.
Next to his own brand, Jonathan Christopher, he has worked for brands such as Karl Lagerfeld and was chosen by Marc Jacobs to be one of the five finalists for Designer for Tomorrow by Peek en Cloppenburg.
In 2014 he won the very first Global Denim Awards and in 2015 he won the Woolmark European Finals.
He now works on a new brand St.Ape, basing the idea around using deadstock fabrics from high end designers, to make his collections of limited editions, like he has throughout his career. Reusing old materials makes him a perfect and authentic collaborator for Ian Berry.
jonathan@jonathanchristopher.nl
https://www.jonathanchristopher.nl/index.php/about
About Twood
This material research project by Swede Lil O.Sjöberg and her collaborators, explores the possibilities to extend the lifecycle of denim fiber with a new innovative recycling technique, creating a new material TWOOD [textile-wood]
The aim in this ongoing part of the project, is to identify and develop the industrial processes. The goal is to produce material prototypes and evaluate the material specifications in order to target usability for the next step. With the material she has been able to make items that range from tables to a beautiful denim Twood guitar.
Behind the Brands Podcast - Ian Berry
Talking on the Behind Brands Podcast Ian Berry spoke with Warren Parker-Mills which was something of a change for them in regards to this week's episode, as, Ian Berry isn’t really a brand. Well, he is, but you know.
Warren says ‘as we chat in-depth with the super talented artist, Ian Berry. Ian has showed his incredibly impressive work at exhibitions and Installations across the globe and was recognised as being one of the "Top 30 under 30" within the Art World. Ian scours, thousands of pairs of Jeans to locate the perfect shade of Denim to use in his 'blue based' creations. ‘
’Take a listen to understand his ongoing relationship with Denim and how he uses the fabric to depict day to day life and 20th Century culture.’
https://lnkd.in/e5xAFyp
If you want to see Ian's work in real life, head to Museum Rijswijk in the Netherlands, his work will be available to view until the 5th August.
Museum Rijswijk Reopens
Splendid Isolation
5 June - 15 August 2021
Museum Rijswijk, Rijswijk, the Netherlands
After a long period behind closed doors the 5th June see’s Ian Berry ‘Splendid Isolation’ Exhibition at Museum Rijswijk in Holland reopen. It will be then be prolonged until 15 August 2021. To mark the opening Mixed Grill put it in its Top 11 Shows to see in Holland and FD marked it as a ‘Must See’ as galleries now reopen across the Netherlands.
It was also on TV West Nieuws in the Zuid-Holland Noord region, where curator Diana Wind guides around the show and talks about Ian' Berry’s work with only denim jeans. (all in Dutch)
As well as other platforms on the Omroep West platform.
Ian Berry Splendid Isolation at Museum Rijswijk by Omroep West
Get your tickets now to see Ian Berry’s art in denim at Museum Rijswijk until 15 August.
Ian Berry in the Year of Covid - A look back
Angle of the North | Drone Works North East
‘‘The thanks first came from the people, you saw kid’s on cul-de-sacs celebrating their new heros but as the weeks went on it seemed all the pictures were politicians and celebrities and the goodwill faded. It felt like who it was from, overshadowed who it was for.’’
Ian Berry
Ian Berry with his son, Elliott with #iclapfor
The last year of Covid 19 has touched everyone’s lives no matter where they are in the world, and professions from those direct on the front line to those with the knock on effects of lockdown.
Most artists lost all their shows with some ‘going virtual’ but for Ian Berry he found three of his exhibitions still on (some were lost) and not only on, but large solo shows and in foreign lands. Many isolations and quarantines later we are now looking at the anniversary of the start of lock down in the UK as he prepares for a memorable event at a great location this week to mark the occasion.
Here we look back at the huge number of things the artist originally from Huddersfield but now living in Poplar, East London, has got up to often with his son Elliott by his side.
Stay Behind Close Doors at Museum Rijswijk
From setting up a photo in isolation juried show for a museum, to lighting up a message of gratitude in almost every town and city in the UK and Ireland and many around the world, to collaborating with an Oscar Winner to remaking his Lock Down Living Room all of course in the material he sees the world in… denim.
Stay Behind Closed Doors
For many years not only did Ian Berry use denim in his work he has portrayed isolation in urban environments, whether in an empty bar, a lonely soul in a launderette or with Behind Closed Doors, people in their own homes. The latter body of work took on a new life with people now being told to stay home, many, alone.
Ian works from photoshoots he sets up, and last March all of his got cancelled. They were to be people in their own homes. Life now already imitating art. Before lockdown he started to ask photographer friends if they could shoot themselves in their own homes due to the restrictions and as the photos came in, Diana Wind, curator of Museum Rijswijk in The Netherlands and Berry decided they were so good that they should be displayed in the museum also and they made it wider for anyone to enter in what became a juried show.
A Stitch in Time Niki McDonald by Alec Dawson, Sydney, Australia
Denise Stock, Munich, Germany
Ian Berry's home isolation work in denim
Entries came in from all over the world from professional photographers and amateurs alike. 16 were chosen to present in the Museum alongside many dozens more that were lasered to create a denim backdrop. As a great record of the time period they captured Olympic stars training with the event off to people playing games at home. Below, famed New York photo journalist Martha Cooper captured the nightly 7pm clap for the Carers in Manhattan.
you can see more of the project here
Marha Cooper, New York
#ICLAPFOR from Lands End to John O’Groats -
and almost everywhere in between and to countries far and wide…
On Thursday 26th March, the UK followed many other countries around the world with an applause for those out on the frontline caring for us. It came from the people, and at 8pm the night skies erupted with noise in what will one day be remembered very positively. Ian’s son then aged 6, Elliott, wondered what it was all about in a week that broke up his home schooling. His parents could explain it to him and he was hooked - especially being told of people he knew personally that we were clapping for while he was engaged and so interested.
Elliott like many children made a rainbow…
..and sent it to his grandma. But he wanted to make more art
After making a rainbow to send to his grandma he wanted to make more art and he asked his father about clapping hands. Elliott took the photos of his dad clapping hands. Ian Berry then set about making them in denim, not only blue but universal, while Elliott sat next to him drawing. They realised that to portray clapping, they had to show the motion. So they made two. And animated it.
It was intended just to send to some friends to say thank you but one day when Elliott was watching a movie on the projector he said ‘can we put the clapping on the projector?’ The next minute it was being beamed off the balcony… They lived in a building in London where the roof could be seen from miles around but the projector wasn’t strong enough. He looked online and it lead to Andrew Hall of See The Bigger Picture in Newcastle. Once discovering what they wanted to do with a projector he said ‘I can do that’ and this was the starting gun for it to be beamed all over the world.
Through Andrew and some of Ian’s other contacts word got out and it ended up lighting the lonely night skies on places like the Baltic Contemporary Arts Centre in the Newcastle/Gateshead, to Edinburgh Castle and the V&A in Scotland, Conwy Castle to Cardiff City Hall in Wales, all over Ireland and from John o’Groats on the Northern most tip of the island of Britain down to Lands End, the southern most tip in Cornwall and so many towns and cities in between.
It also was seen as far as Australia, Brazil, Colombia, Germany, Italy, Mexico City and Sweden and more along with in the USA like New York, LA, New Orleans, Princeton and a beautiful one in Greensboro North Carolina know as ‘Jeansboro’.
click through to see images in each location
With it, online they asked the question, who do you clap for? #iclapfor …
This brought thousands of answers from family and friends to neighbours to whole groups of people we were thanking - many who had been overlooked at the time like people working in the prison services, unpaid carers, and so many other people on the Front Line. These answers were projected on the Angel of the North in Gateshead. By making it more personal, who can begrudge you clapping for a family member?
Angel of the North | Drone Works North East
While the projections were temporary it lasted longer and spread online and in the press and people sent the animation to those they were clapping for. It also got a lasting memory with the mural painting in Walthamstow in East London together With Wood Street Walls and ATMA - on a doctors surgery too! Not only that; Berry never actively sought to ‘do anything’ in this time, he had a full schedule of shows to do and ‘well, I didn’t want to jump on the bandwagon, there’s times I wonder if I had, what really could have been achieve with this. The beauty of it was that it was so much more than me. It was never about me. Maybe a little Elliott, but it was who it was for, not from.’
With this mindset Ian Berry invited other artists to send in their clapping hands.
‘I loved to see mine and Elliott’s light up the night on different buildings. Looking back it was amazing to see a quiet street and then see an ambulance or other worker go past. But if it was left up all night, or, done with a council or body that tells people it was going to happen, well, who wants to see the same thing! One of my favourite parts of the initiative was having over 20 artists from all over the world sending their art in and seeing it projected. No one wants to clap alone!’
In the UK the clapping happened every Thursday for 10 weeks. In New York it lasted longer, and it was every night. Having been around a lot of these places we saw the positively both in the action and with the projection. While once pay rises came into the conversation of course we wanted the staff get paid well, especially the nurses. #iclapfor in fact managed to turn the claps in to money raising around $10,000 for NHS Charites Together and Doctors Without Borders before stopping donations once you could get a badge with Pin Your Thanks. But it was more about putting the good will into the night sky.
For the NHS birthday on the 5 July there were special projections on the White Cliffs of Dover, Coal Drop Yards in Kings Cross, at the Piece Hall in Halifax along with two tributes at Hospital at the Royal Brompton in Chelsea, London and the RVI in Newcastle. See more at the dedicated website #iclapfor
Pin Your Thanks Jacket with Jenny Beavan OBE
Ian Berry was asked to join Pin Your Thanks an initiative set up by volunteers in South East London to give a ‘Heartfelt Thanks’ to those who have supported us. He joined public figures like Ringo Starr, Keria Knightley and Joe Lycett and now the Clapping Hands had another legacy - the ‘Peoples Medal’ that were given as a small thank you to those on the frontline.
The Charitable foundation was launched with a projection on London’s South Bank starting with the Clapping Hands then unveiling it as a badge, and then the other badges like Anoushka Shankar and David James. Rita Ora and young competition winner Evie have been added since. Berry joined the others in singing a Christmas song, the 12 days of Christmas.
Ian Berry worked with double Academy Award winner for costume design, Jenny Beavan OBE. They made a denim jacket with Blackhorse Lane in London and lined with with all the letters of support for Pin Your Thanks like Stephen Fry, Dame Emma Thompson, Harry Hill and many more. The Jacket was adorned with all the different care worker badges who had been answered with #iclapfor symbolising all those who had gone above and beyond during Covid-19.
The badges were pinned and sewn on, alongside with acknowledgements for the NHS and Volunteers. Pin Your Thanks through the sale of the badges and the denim jacket are raising funds for NHS Charities Together and Volunteering Matters.
There was lenticular posters made of the clapping hands and were installed in hospitals along with in the Museum Rijswijk which debuted the collaboration with Beavan and a short documentary you will see below. You can get a poster here
Lockdown Living Room
With getting caught up unintentionally with the charity initiatives it is easy to forget Ian Berry is an artist with still a lot going on. While his 15 years of collections were shown in the museum it all ended up falling in under ‘Splendid Isolation’ which was brought together connecting the various bodies that have looked at lonely melancholy scenes all in indigo blue. With his shoots cancelled he was forced to look closer to home for inspiration.
‘I have lived in many places and while sometimes I portrayed what was around me I often moved somewhere I then flew off somewhere else. Like from Sweden to London, then when I lived in London I went to America a lot to base work from. With lockdown, and the beautiful spring we did have, I was forced to see what was around me here in East London and I liked what I saw. It was quite a lesson.
Berry ended up remaking his whole living room and bedroom in denim. With his Chesterfield sofa made in Cone Denim, the plants all in old jeans to the record collection and even a window, looking out to a #Iclapfor projection.
The Museum Rijswijk showed 30 pieces of work of Ian Berry’s art in denim spread over numerous rooms and his 15 year career with the material. From Behind Closed Doors to the lonely soul on the subway, to a newsagent - who were very much on the front line this last year. The show itself is now locked down, but will be extended into the summer. Berry also had a solo show in the Levi Strauss Museum in Germany and one in Basel.
And finally…
‘Do remember they can’t cancel Spring’
David Hockney
A reincarnation of the Secret Garden, first shown in the CMA in New York in 2017 was curated at the end of the exhibition in Holland to echo David Hockney’s words with his new work a few weeks into lockdown in 2020.
All made out of denim - vines and flowers hang down from the museums roof echoing the museum garden and representing the nature. Of course denim and jeans are great contributors to the global issues and environment, especially with the fast fashion and over production and consumption. Showing the flowers and wisteria made out of something originally started as a plant. We all hope for a better future and take many of the lessons of the last year to learn from, not least the way we saw the nature bloom and pollution decline.
Below you will see a short 5 minute documentary about what #Iclapfor was about narrated by Ian Berry and Fiona Berry, his sister, that wrote a poem as Berry Poetic. We hope it will relive some of the memories and positivity of this time last year. We see it that not only have some not got the pay rises that the year deserved, but they also no longer get the gratitude. And this doesn’t mean just the clapping, it ran its course. But the free coffee here, or the queue jump there. All the little moments in a day, that made a big difference, not from government, not from a celebrity, but, from the people.
Watch out this week to see what we’ll do to mark the years anniversary along with the great folks over at Make it Blue. .
A big Thank You to all those supported.. fully listed on www.iclapfor.com but including Cone Denim, Tonello, Tencel, Famore Cutlery, Pin Your Thanks and many more!
Ian Berry to show a the “Birth House of Levi Strauss Jeans Museum”
On September 13th Ian Berry will open an exhibition at the birthplace of the inventor of the modern jean, Levi Strauss. In a museum that looks back over the life of one of the world's most iconic names, it will also examine the years of Ian Berry's work who of course makes all of his work out of the material so synonymous with the man who emigrated from Germany to make his fortune: Denim jeans
Details
13 Sept - 8 November 2020
Marktstr. 31-33 96155 Buttenheim
Phone: +49 95 45 - 44 26 02
email: levi-strauss-museum(at)buttenheim.de
For the last 15 years Ian has been crafting his work out of the indigo dyed textile and this will commence two years of museum shows for the Yorkshire born artist. Many works will be on display including from the Behind Closed Doors and Hotel California collections and the exhibition will help mark the special 20th Anniversary of the museum.
'When Dr Tanja Roppelt the curator got in touch with me a couple of years ago it made sense - the old romantic in me loved the idea of the work showing in the birthplace (of Levi Strauss)
‘Together with other the museum shows we managed to loan works back from clients who have collected over the years to show a range of the work, as well as showing the development. With many of the other locations having a textile or denim history past, it is so fitting to show here at the birthplace of the man who made denim what it is today as well as for myself to step back and reflect on my career with the material.' Said Ian Berry
It will be Berry's first showing of his work in Germany and he will be there to meet the guests at the opening that will of course be under social distancing rules.
An exhibit at the Levi Strauss museum in Buttenheim and Levi Strauss.
About the Museum
In the spring of 1983 a lady from Milwaukee, was trying to organize a “German Fest” and wrote to the former Mayor of Buttenheim, asking for information about the birth of Levi Strauss. This started intensive research to be conducted in the register of births and deaths of the Jewish community of Buttenheim and the emigration documents of the Bamberg state archives and finally it proved that Levi Strauss was born in Buttenheim, a town in the Upper Franconian district of Bamberg. He was born with the name Loeb in 1829 and in 1847 he would emigrate to the USA and by 1850 took on the Americanized name Levi - and what would become one of the most famous names in the world.
This discovery initiated the founding of a museum.
Further research found that the original birth house of Levi Strauss was still standing. It is one of only a few preserved objects from his life and one of the oldest houses in Buttenheim. The district council decided to buy the house in 1987, which was built approximately in 1687 and today is classified as a historical monument. An elaborate renovation of the dilapidated half-timbered house began, during which the house of birth of Levi Strauss was reconstructed as true to the original as possible. The idea to donate a museum to the history of indigo and denim took shape.
The museum opened in September 2000 and revolves around the world’s most famous pair of pants. With the biography of Levi Strauss, visitors can gain an insight into the lives of rural Franconian Jewish Community, the world of the immigrants, the beginnings of the textile industry and of course, all about the phenomenon of jeans. Short films, audio guides (in many languages), moving graphics and a collection of different pieces made from the legendary blue cotton cloth show the development of the jeans that serves as a meeting point for the curious, collectors, specialists and jean-wearers of every age. The museum also shows the struggles of a Franconian Jew in the 19th century, the hardships of a German immigrant in America, the boom of the textile industry and the history of jeans, all while honouring the tremendous accomplishments of Levi Strauss the man.
Sleeping Alone I, denim on denim, 2016
After over a decade of success, the Museum planned to begin its next chapter by adding on an extension to the Levi Strauss birth house. With the help of Levi’s great-grandnephew, Dr. Douglas Goldman in California, the Museum was ceremoniously opened on May 21st, 2011, marking the beginning of a new phase in the Museum’s history.
When the Museum opened back in 2000, hardly anyone anticipated its rapid success. Nevertheless, both Museum guests and professionals has seen the Levi Strauss Museum become a popular success and going strong in its 20th year. Every year, thousands of people visit Buttenheim from all over the world in order to experience the Museum and see where the idea of Jeans all began. Due to the high number of visitors and the many projects and events, the 130 square meters of the original birth house was almost always filled to its maximum capacity. Therefore, the Museum decided to extend to a neighbouring house, which would give the Museum over 500 square meters of available display space after renovations. The new extension allowed the Museum to continue to develop the Levi Strauss experience with a new archive to store the Museum’s historical collection and help preserve their historical pieces.
#iclapfor project by Ian Berry
About the Artist: Ian Berry
Ian Berry has been working with denim for the last 15 years, but he is more than the material he works with. During the Covid period his work took on a new life, having spent years portraying isolation. His Behind Closed Doors body of work became life for most of us, he had painstakingly crafted beautiful homes out of only denim but with a haunting scene of loneliness. Even his bar scenes or the work from Hotel California depicted a perception of solitude.
He works from photoshoots he either takes, or directs, and all of them were cancelled in the first week of lockdown. Many people sent him photos of their home isolation. Then, along with his son Elliott, 6, he made two applauding hands. Clapping for the health heroes had been a big part of British life for the first ten weeks of the Covid period. Ian’s son was particularly captivated and it enabled Ian to explain more what was going on while he was engaged. What started as a personal project between father and son, ended up been beamed all over the world via projections. It covers the whole of the UK and Ireland and was seen as far as Australia, Colombia and Brazil amongst many others. It became a big campaign called #iclapfor and a film will be shown at the museum - as well as a special projection at the opening.
Ian Berry shows the making of one of the pieces in the show in Germany.
Ian, original from Huddersfield lives and works in East London amongst thousands of pairs of jeans that he recycles to create almost photorealistic pieces and installations. He has been named a top 30 artist under 30 in the world as well as a top 50 name in denim worldwide in 2019 and now he will show at a historical home of one of the materials of our time.
This will start a series of museum shows. On November 28th Ian Berry will open Splendid Isolation at the Museum Rijswijk in Holland. The show at his home town of Huddersfield (in the center of the industrial revolution) is under doubt regarding Covid but in the fall of 2021 a large solo show will open at the National Museum of Textiles (Textiel Museet) in Boras, Sweden. Further shows are TBA due to covid issues.
Levi Strauss historian Tracey Panek, mayor Michael Karmann and museum manager Tanja Roppelt with a 19th century jeans in front of Levi Strauss's birthplace
In 2018 Ian Berry visited the Levi Strauss archives in San Francisco - Tracey Panek selected some special jeans to show him as well as Albert Einstein’s leather jacket.
*Due to the current situation, the planned two-day anniversary celebrations cannot take place within the planned framework and will be postponed to a later date.
Ian Berry in the Rivet 50
Ian Berry joins Hailey Bieber and Bella & Gigi Hadid being named as a Top 50 influential figures in denim for 2019.
The Rivet 50 was announced by a leading denim industry magazine, Rivet, and named the London based British artist on its list alongside fellow Brits of the calibre of Stella McCartney representing the movers and shakers of the denim industry.
RIVET 50 serves as an index of the most creative and forward-thinking leaders driving change in the global denim marketplace. And this year, those individuals were nominated and chosen by the denim industry. Thousands of online votes determined who made the list. From mill to runway, designers to celebrities and of course, the artist that made his name using denim, Ian Berry.
Of course it is not the first accolade for Ian Berry, in 2013 he was named in the Top 30 Artist under 30 in the World by art Business Magazine and his success just grows. This summer he had another sell out show in London and has shown all across the USA, Brazil, as well as many European galleries. 2020 will see the start of a museum tour across Europe.
Ian said ‘It was a total surprise to be nominated to start with as I don’t see myself ‘in’ denim and really I keep a distance from the industry. Denim, It’s just my medium. It was great thought getting many messages from people in the denim industry offering their support and saying they are voting for me - reminding me of how many amazing people I have met over the years I have been working with jeans.’
Extract of the Rivet 50 article.
The shortlist of 100 was announced earlier in the year and split into sections. Executives, with the winners including Levi’s CEO and President Chip Bergh, Designerslike Brit Martine Rose and Mary Pierson of Madewell, Retailerswhich included iconic London store Son of a Stag owner Rudy Budhdeo and Rivet and Hide’s Danny Hodgson (6 of the 50 were British) Supply Chainwhere Alice Tonello of Tonello which is at the forefront of pushing sustainability in the industry and has worked with Ian to help make some of his famous installations, notably the Secret Garden. Ian’s group was the influencersection that included Justin Bieber’s new wife Hailey who is the face of the Levi 501 and the supermodels the Hadid sisters.
‘The flip side of knowing many in the industry meant I was up against many of my friends. All who merited their place on the list. More so than me. Some got in, some didn’t. But I’m happy to see my friend Mohsin Sajid on the list as he puts so much effort in to educating the next generation and his knowledge in denim is amazing.’
Ian has done projects with schools and many schools and colleges do projects on him around the world and believes in giving back and education. In December the former Greenhead College student with return to the college and give the awards and the annual awards evening at the Johns Smiths Stadium.
Ian concluded.
‘I’m happy to be alongside many on the list who I consider friends in addition to those mentioned like Tricia Carey, Alberto Candiani, Fox and Jeff Garza of Foxhole, Maurizio Donali, Panos Sofianos, Henry Wong and Andrea Venier amongst others.’
What is Rivet 50?
Rivet’s Influential 50 is an index of the most creative and forward-thinking leaders driving the global Jeanswear industry. The Influential 50 represent the upward direction the denim community strives for with each new collection, innovation and technology.
Ian Berry in Selfridges & Co London
London based artist Ian Berry is currently showing in Selfridges and Co on London’s Oxford Street.
On the 3rd Floor in the world’s largest Denim Section in the ‘Denim Studio’ you’ll find a mini exhibition of Ian’s work that recently showed at the London Art Fair. Showing the new body of work based on the Hollywood Roosevelt in LA. The famed hotel that held the first Oscars is also where David Hockney painted the base of the pool.
The stand has a touch of his Secret Garden installation, with a trellis of flowers and foliage hanging down all made out of denim.
Time lapse of the making of overnight in Selfridges London
The Roosevelt Hotel, LA
Ian’s mini exhibition is to coincide with the Bright New Things program that Selfridges runs to promote sustainability with style with upcoming brands. Ian Berry’s recycled denim masterpieces demonstrates this message and is a theme across the promoted sustainable companies. From swimwear made out of regenerated ocean fishnets, sneakers made from recycled materials and, of course, vintage denim repurposed to make new stylish and fitted pairs with fellow East London designer, Anna Foster with E.L.V. Denim.
Ian Berry’s Self Portrait in London’s Selfridges
Ian says:
‘I’m proud to be a part of a growing denim community here in London where sustainability, quality, as well as positive ethics are at the heart of everything. Since moving back to London I found a really authentic community of talented designers, brands, stores and even a new mill that makes denim here in the UK (OK that’s in Lancashire)’
‘It’s fantastic to be a part of this great community, with people like Mohsin Sajid with Endrime, Snake and Dagger and many more - too many to name - but one of the common threads throughout them all is how Blackhorse Lane Atelier is so central to them and it’s great that they have a factory here in London that is the only craft jean maker in London.’
Denim Designer Anna Foster used the factory in Walthamstow to make her denim out of reused vintage jeans, which cut out the journey time and therefore the carbon footprint. Each jean is made up of two halves of vintage jeans, and is therefore entirely unique in its colour and fit. By reusing denim, it cuts the water intake and obviously breathes new life into something that could have been destined for landfill. E.L.V Denim operates from an ideal of ‘no waste’ and she creates her jeans with barely any environmental impact.
Anna says
I love denim, but not only that I’m passionate about the idea of reusing this functional fabric and reworking it into new styles.’
Ian Berry with the display in Selfridges.
Ian adds
When I started my work, it wasn’t really the sustainable message I was going with although I was a big follower of Al Gore when I started recycling denim. I used it because I felt it is the material of our time and I portray contemporary life. In the last few years sustainability is the new buzz word, which is on one side great - but only when it is used authentically, and not just for marketing. Of course I’m now happy that people talk of me in the way that my work portrays a sustainable message and it can make people think, but while I obviously care for the environment and over the years realised how bad a denim past has been its was never the core reason behind my work. People like Anna and Han at Blackhorse Lane really live and breathe that message and are doing a great job.
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 X New York Denim Days
credit | Lisa Kato
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, Textile Artist.
Now, we are not one to believe in labels, and many textile artists should really just call them artists on many occasions. But after over a decade of working with denim, the Textile art world over the last few years are starting to take note of Ian's work using denim. It's a textile after all.
He may not stitch, sew and they are no quilts. However many of the skills are the same and with viewing them, many in textile art have been amazed by his skills in manipulating the layers of fabric to become almost photo-realistic pieces.
Over the last number of years Ian has been invited to show in many contexts in the fiber and textile art genres and after initially declining to focus on his gallery shows, he also found himself saying
'I want more people to see the real work'
So, the seeds were sewn and with some persuasion, over the years, he agreed to a number of shows. Many which attract tens of thousands of people. And not one to ever do anything by halves, he put on a show, one with installations and some of his best work (often loaned back by clients)
First up was Quilt en Sud in Biarritz in the south of France with the one of the organisers, Christine Lacroix being the driving influence to his appearance. We cannot thank her enough for her organising (we tested her a little) as well as the rest of the team who were so warm, kind and friendly. For Ian it was great to meet so many people who work with Textiles to see his work, and to get so many amazing comments. It was also good to meet and make friends with other artists, like Sheila Frampton Cooper, Françoise Tellier-Loumagne, Francine Flattard and Claudia Pfeil
Ian received great reviews from both the public and the press from his appearance in the South of France. Here Les Novelles (left) by French Patchwork featured a nice double page spread and QuiltMania stated how Ian has been setting the art world alight as well as comparing his work to Hopper.
It was also a great way to travel with the work with Biarritz and the surrounding area a beautiful place to visit. The event was packed with many talented and committed people and filled with volunteers that did the event proud.
In the September Ian was an invited featured artist at Le Carrefour Européen du Patchwork in Alsace, France. For its 24th event Ian impressed the Twenty Thousand plus crowd with his work all made in denim. It was a great event and one where the booth was consistently full of people, taking pictures and trying to get autographs and selfies with Ian.
The booth was consistently busy. On the right, people watching the films by Ian Berry.
Showing in one part the My Beautiful Launderette installation where people could interact and walk into it. The other part hosted part of Behind Closed Doors the emotionally charged body of work first shown in London at the end of 2016. Most viewers were more interested in the construction of the works and with so many people at the stand the emotional aspect was sometimes lost. That said, the poem on the wall, by Ian's sister, Fiona, drew a large response and many tears.
The event spanned four days and the first three Ian's area had consistently at least three or four dozen people in, sometimes up to a hundred. On the last day, it was a bit quieter with only a dozen people in at one time and it was intriguing how many more comments were given about the content of the work, not just the style and technique. Many commented how they saw themselves in the work.
Ian was housed in an area with fellow artists Mirjam Pet-Jacobs - the award winning Dutch artist who like Ian is interested in how people communicate and interact. This museum standard show was a highlight for Ian to see. Alongside Mirjam's show was the work curated by Nancy Crow with by the Dairy Barn from Ohio. This internationally acclaimed artist is noted to be one of the leading figures of the quilt art movement of the 70's and 80's. SAQA was next to Ian and they had developed this exhibition in collaboration with the Stratford Perth Museum, Stratford, Ontario, Canada and featured many Canadian artists. A handful of which captured Ian's eye. The team there were great to be next to. We wish Lisa Walton all the success in her role as the new president and to carry on this organisations great work.
And last but certainly not least, was Ian's old friend Luke Haynes who have known one another for several years. Luke is a superstar in the quilting world and had reached out to Ian as far back as 2011 and they have been friends since. It was great to see so many of his works all in one place. He had collaborated with some other artists on these pieces. With the impact Luke and Ian had on the event it was hard for people to be not drawn in to their gender.
many school children came around and seemed to be impressed with Ian's work.
It was also great for Ian to meet some people who had followed his work for several years. This included people like journalists Alie Dijk, Astrid Franchet and Katell Renon who have written about Ian several times before. The interesting thing however is how they all saw the work differently to how they had done before. This is great to get so many people to see the work in real life.
Ian didn't get chance to really get out of the booth to see anything else, but did manage to see Andrée Leblanc's work who he was deeply impressed with and Paula Nadelstern's quilts inspired by the bilateral symmetry of kaleidoscopic images. Léa Stansal quirky work brought many smiles while he was sad not to get to see Willy Doreleijers's show, The Tentmakers of Cairo and his friends Val Holmes among others..
For Ian, not used to showing in this context it was strange for his gender to be brought up. It's only since showing with other textile artists has it. Now in hindsight, in this world we now see it is easier for males to stand out, but really we think that the work should stand for itself, regardless of gender or any other factor.
The only positive to this he takes from this, is that he hopes young children, and boys can see what can be achieved.
The Dernières Nouvelles d'Alsace wrote very highly about Ian's work. Desctibing his work and the attention he got - as well as being a male in this woman dominated world. For those who know French, this was a very nice phrase to be given..
'Chaque édition a son chouchou... Cette année, c’est Ian Berry qui remporte la palme.'
Quilt en Sud stood out by its friendly army of volunteers while at Carrefour it really felt like an event the whole region got behind with the event taking over many venues over many of the towns and one that the media got behind.
After two successful trips to France, it sets up Ian nicely to show again in the Textile world again during Quilt Week in Paducah, Kentucky next April as the guest artist. One of the highlight events of the year in the industry. You can read about Ian in the latest edition of American Quilter.
Dates
April 18 – 21, 2018 • Wed.–Fri., 9am–6pm, Sat., 9am–4pm
Schroeder Expo Center • 415 Park Avenue, Paducah, KY 42001
But before then two stops in the USA, with New York Denim Days coming up this weekend and Miami Basel Week in December. Watch out for more information.
And will you see Ian quilt or sew in future? Maybe so.
Ian Berry in GQ in Spain and Italy September issue
GQ have been good to Ian over the years, first featuring him online as far back as 2013 in South Africa, then Brazil in 2014. Last year he was printed in GQ GB and here in both Italia and España.
In the Italian issue it was reported by Paola Montanaro (translated from Italian)
The art of Ian Berry transforming jeans into masterpieces
His creations have a palette that exploits all the nuances of denim, his canvases tell stories of everyday life, or travels started a while ago. Like that of Pepe Jeans London, which has supported the art of the young English artist immediately.
Use denim as it is painting, to transform it into matter through which tell stories of everyday life. Part of this is the work of the young English artist Ian Berry, who has entered the world chart of 30 top artists under thirty years. His meticulous work consists in transforming denim artwork by exploiting all the many shades of jeans cloth to create his own palette of colors, and to transform ordinary scenes in masterpieces. As he tells himself: "The starting point is to find an interesting scene on which to build and tell a story. It could be someone sitting in a laundry room, a single girl in a bar ... any reality or situation, even the most banal, which will then turn into something very special. "
It's normal that his creativity and originality did not go unnoticed in the eyes of a brand that shares his values nd has his own denim in the heart: Pepe Jeans London. Between the artist and the brand was born a very high level synergy that led the London brand to donate their denim to use for his works of art. In addition to supporting Berry's work, the brand has also decided to host Berry's canvases in its stores around the world. In particular at the opening of the Regent Street shop, the artist created an ad hoc opera: a journey into the history of Pepe Jeans from origins at Portobello Road, where the brand was born in 1973.
And some quotes from España
“Throughout the history of art, many of its protagonists have been meant to take their obsessions to the last consequences .... In the 21st century, we continue to admire artists who turn their conceptual and material concerns into the vertebral axes of their Works, our latest discovery Ian Berry.”
ending with - Ian Berry, a young talent who has made denim a powerful artifact to convey emotions.
News
News from the studio of Ian Berry
