GREY AREA Takes Over Bergdorf’s Iconic Windows
Window shoppers are treated to brand new contemporary art at Bergdorf Goodman’s this fashion week with the first installment of Art Matters!—a series of art installations that will fill their legendary Fifth Avenue windows through May—beginning with Ten Artists for Ten Spaces, a collaboration with GREY AREA. Linda Fargo, Bergdorf’s SVP of Fashion Office and Store Presentation, said of the collaboration, “We like the idea of using our windows as an evolving gallery to reflect the synergy of art and fashion.”
Bergdorf’s President, Joshua Schulman noted that “Bergdorf Goodman has a long history of artistic collaborations,” which is most evident in its windows, which are a must-see tourist attraction during the holidays, yet are tended to year round by a team of window dressers. This tradition is long standing, and has reflected contemporaneous artistic and cultural trends; in the 1930s the windows reflected surrealism, during World War II they were patriotic, and beginning in the mid-70s they became intriguing, artful spaces to provide foot traffic with shock and awe.
With the help of GREY AREA, the tradition continues through ten contemporary artists. Highlights of Ten Artists for Ten Spaces include paintings by Kasper Sonne that began as perfect monochromes, and were set on fire; Sebastian Errazuriz’s XL Bird Chandelier, a crystal lamp covered with taxidermy birds; and a huge teddy bear covered in tar by Mattia Biagi. Other artists involved include Christopher Astley, Kristin Cammermeyer, Lionel Estève, Peter D. Gerakaris, Andrea Mary Marshall, Adam Parker Smith, and WXYZ by Laura Wass.
Art Matters! is on view at Bergdorf Goodman, Fifth Avenue and 58th Street, through May 2014.
Installation Images Courtesy of Grey Area, Molly Gottschalk, and Alex Gilbert.
