Barbican Art Gallery, London

Exhibition dates: 9 April – 25 August 2014

Media View, Tuesday 8 April 2014, 10.30am to 3pm

“I am impressed by the way Annie Kevans captured the different types of beauties that have been my inspiration and my muses from my grandmother to artists like David Bowie and Boy George.”

Jean Paul Gaultier

British artist Annie Kevans has been commissioned by exhibition curator Thierry-Maxime Loriot to create a series of works for the exhibition The Fashion World of Jean Gaultier: From The Sidewalk To The Catwalk.  Exhibited for the first time at the Barbican Galleries from 9^th April to 25^th August 2014, then to the National Galleries of Victoria in Melbourne (17^th October 2014 – 8^th February 2015) and Galeries Nationales du Grand Palais in Paris (1^st April – 3^rd August 2015).

On Kevans’ new series, Loriot says: “Annie Kevans’ work caught my attention years ago when I saw her fantastic oil paintings ‘All The Presidents Girls’ at Volta in New York. As she is a great storyteller who works in series, I thought she was the best artist to create these eye-catching and delicate portraits that tell Gaultier’s story about his muses and inspirations, all great characters, these paintings translate well the humanist message in his work. I am delighted Kevans is now taking part in the exhibition tour.”

Annie was delighted to be commissioned to create a series depicting Jean Paul Gaultier’s 30 muses, as well as 2 paintings of Jean Paul Gaultier himself, for the touring exhibition already seen by more than one million visitors.  The artist sees the series as an exploration of creativity. Annie Kevans said: “In fashion, and in culture in general, we always wonder where ideas come from.  I think it’s wonderful that Jean Paul Gaultier is able to honour his muses and their creativity which has inspired his own.  I think we’ve all been influenced by Jean Paul Gaultier’s ideas, from his celebration of the unusual to his subverting of the familiar.  The strong social message in his work is very inspiring to create works that reflect society and celebrate different types of beauty, without following the fixed standards of beauty presented by the fashion industry – all genders, body sizes, skin colours, religions and ages are included in his world.”

The Muses are:

All works are oil on paper and 40 x 30 cm.

Annie Kevans has also produced a painting of Jean Paul Gaultier and a copy of this is available to buy as a limited edition print through the Barbican.

ANNIE KEVANS

Born Cannes, France, 1972

Lives and works in London
www.anniekevans.com

Since graduating from Central St. Martins in 2004, when Charles Saatchi bought her series of 30 paintings of dictators as young boys (Boys), Kevans has had solo exhibitions in New York, London, Vienna and Antwerp.  She recently received excellent reviews when her Boys were shown in the Paper exhibition at the Saatchi Gallery.  Annie Kevans is known for her series of ‘portraits’ (not always based on real documentation), which deal with difficult issues, often presenting us with alternative histories in an attempt to explore ideas which impact on current culture.  With the series Girls she looked at the sexualisation of childhood and with All the Presidents’ Girls she portrayed US presidential mistresses throughout history.  She has been a finalist in the Women of the Future awards and the Jerwood Drawing Prize and her work can be found in major collections including the Pallant House Gallery, the Saatchi Collection and 21c Museum, as well as the personal collections of Stephen Fry, Marc Quinn, David Roberts, Adam Sender and Jean Pigozzi.

Currently, Annie Kevans’ work can be seen in Politricks at Beursschouwburg in Brussels, in War and Trauma at Museum Dr Guislain in Belgium and in All About Eve at Fifty One Too in Antwerp.  Her next solo exhibition will be opening at the Fine Art Society in London on 13 May. Women and the History of Art will feature portraits of successful female artists from the past 500 years, many of whom have been all but written out of art history.

In the first major exhibition devoted to the celebrated French couturier, we invite you to explore Jean Paul Gaultier’s fashion world. With his avant-garde fashion creations and cutting-edge designs, Gaultier has shaped the look of fashion over the last 40 years. His reputation for witty and daring designs and a ceaseless interest in society, identity and a beauty borne of difference has earned him a place in fashion history.

Gaultier is fascinated by world cultures and countercultures, conceiving a new kind of fashion in both the way it is made and worn. Through twists, transformations, transgressions and reinterpretations, he not only erases the boundaries between cultures but also the sexes, redefining the idea of androgyny or subverting fashion codes.

This theatrically-staged exhibition brings together more than 190 cutting-edge couture and ready-to-wear garments including iconic costumes for film and performance from the early 1970s to the present day. The infamous conical bra and corsets Madonna wore during her 1990 Blonde Ambition World Tour are showcased alongside stage costumes designed for Kylie Minogue as well as pieces created for the films of Pedro Almodóvar and Luc Besson’s The Fifth Element.

Gaultier’s rich collaborations with renowned artists and photographers such as Miles Aldridge, David LaChapelle, Pierre et Gilles, Peter Lindbergh, Herb Ritts, Stéphane Sednaoui, Cindy Sherman and Andy Warhol are also shown together with footage of catwalk presentations, concerts, music videos, films, dance performances and Gaultier’s cult television show Eurotrash.