Life Imitates Art: Four Eye-Catching Examples
From Lee Krasner and Chanel to James Turrell and Roberto Coin, these pairings exemplify how art, design, and fashion converge in the most spectacular ways
Left: A maze of hand-cut maple, walnut, and primavera veneer inlay creates a visual distortion on the façade of Theodore Alexander’s Garlan cocktail cabinet.
Right: Mexico City–born artist Bosco Sodi erected Atlantes (2019), a land-art-scaled installation featuring 64 equally spaced, seven-foot-tall cubic structures composed of clay bricks, along the Oaxacan coast, where he has an arts foundation called Casa Wabi.
Left: An energetic layering of pink, beige, and black enamel animates the face of Chanel’s octagonal Boy·Friend Tweed Art timepiece; the design is a nod to the famed French fashion house’s most iconic textile.
Right: Part of Guild Hall’s permanent collection, Lee Krasner’s monumental oil-on-canvas Untitled (1963) bursts with kinetic strokes of color. This summer brings the book Lee and Me: An Intimate Portrait of Lee Krasner, which celebrates the life of the Abstract Expressionist and was written by the East Hampton cultural center’s former director, Ruth Appelhof, who passed away in April.
Left: Drawing great influence from mentors such as Op Art painter, Victor Vasarely, and the founder of the Spatialist movement, Lucio Fontana, Julio Le Parc masterfully entwines monochromatic forms into optical illusions in his work A Partir d’un Ciel de Van Gogh (1958–91).
Right: During Balmain’s spring/summer 2020 presentation, creative director Olivier Rousteing brought ’90s and ’00s pop culture to the runway through bold ensembles that showcased the brand’s wizardry with embellishment.
Left: The architecture of Roberto Coin’s handcrafted 18K-rose-gold Carnaby Street ring provides a sleek vessel for a sparkling face of pavé diamonds.
Right: A warm glow radiates from the pyramidal structure of American artist James Turrell’s Twilight Epiphany Skyspace (2012) in Houston. The ethereal installation, constructed of concrete, stone, and composite steel, lights up in a changing sequence of jewel-toned hues at sunrise and sunset.
A version of this article first appeared in print in our 2020 Summer issue under the headline Life Imitates Art. Subscribe to the magazine.
