Iris van Herpen’s cabinet of curiosities a source of inspiration – QAGOMA Blog

Fashion, art, design, science and technology collide in the world of endlessly innovative and internationally acclaimed Dutch fashion designer Iris van Herpen in ‘Iris van Herpen: Sculpting the Senses’ at Brisbane’s Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA) until 7 October 2024.

Van Herpen’s practice is characterised by material, philosophical and poetic inquiries that are shaped by her imagination, a deep love of reading and her insatiable curiosity. This contemporary cabinet of curiosities — or Kunstkammer, as they were originally known in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries — distils many of the designer’s wide-ranging sources of inspiration.

DELVE DEEPER: Journey through ‘Iris van Herpen: Sculpting the Senses’

Interwoven among the various preparatory studies, garments, footwear, ear pieces, face jewellery, head adornments, belt and clutch accessories made in collaboration with other artists, architects and designers, are historical books, rare photographs, worldly artefacts and natural history specimens, including insects and corals selected by the designer from the Collections of QAGOMA and Queensland Museum.

Cabinet of curiosities

Cabinet of curiosities, ‘Iris van Herpen: Sculpting the Senses’, GOMA 2024 / Photographs: N Umek © QAGOMA

This eclectic display reveals the designer’s love of travel and discovery, and her fascination with the world’s rich diversity. It offers a window into van Herpen’s inquiring mind and her insightful ability to generate connections between worlds.

Iris van Herpen: Sculpting the Senses
29 Jun – 7 Oct
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Cabinet of curiosities

Cabinet of curiosities, ‘Iris van Herpen: Sculpting the Senses’, GOMA 2024 / Photographs: N Umek © QAGOMA
Cabinet of curiosities, ‘Iris van Herpen: Sculpting the Senses’, GOMA 2024 / Photograph: C Sanders © QAGOMA

John & William Cary Cary’s New Celestial Globe 1816

John Cary, England c.1754-1835 / William Cary, England c.176 -1825 / Cary’s New Celestial Globe 1816 / Wood, metal, paper, brass / 30.5cm (diam.) x 92cm (height) / Purchased 2010. QAG Foundation Grant / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art

Eadweard Muybridge ‘Cockatoo in Flight’ 1887

Eadweard Muybridge, United States 1830-1904 / Cockatoo in Flight (plate 760 from ‘Animal Locomotion’ album) 1887 / Collotype on paper / 45.7 x 59.7cm / Purchased 2020 with funds from the Henry and Amanda Bartlett Trust through the QAGOMA Foundation / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art

Watch | Journey through ‘Sculpting the Senses’

Watch | Iris van Herpen in conversation

‘Iris van Herpen: Sculpting the Senses’ is at the Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA) Brisbane from 29 June to 7 October, across the ground floor in The Fairfax Gallery (1.1), Gallery 1.2, and the Eric and Marion Taylor Gallery (1.3).

The exhibition is co-organised by the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris and QAGOMA, Brisbane, based on an original exhibition designed by the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris.

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