Ian Berry Returns to London for Selfridges Denim Studio Installation
Following a museum show in New York and installations at Miami Art Basel and in San Francisco, London artist Ian Berry brought his denim-centric art back home through April 6.
Courtesy Selfridges
The artist known for crafting artistic masterpieces out of denim fabric took over the Denim Studio at Selfridges and Co on London’s Oxford Street, where his mini exhibition featured a new body of work that invoked the Hollywood Roosevelt hotel in Los Angeles. The trellis of denim flowers and foliage made the exhibit somewhat reminiscent of Berry’s Secret Garden installation, while a denim self-portrait depicts the artist at work in his home studio. The components of the textile installation were created with the help of Tonello in Italy.
Berry’s Selfridges installation coincided with the Bright New Things program that the 110-year-old department store runs to promote sustainability with style for upcoming brands. Berry’s art crafted from recycled denim is in line with the sustainable companies Selfridges is promoting, which create 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, from fellow East London designer, Anna Foster. Foster’s denim also has a low carbon footprint, since it’s repurposed and re-styled at a factory in Walthamstow in East London.
Courtesy Selfridges
“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,” Berry said, naming Mohsin Sajid with Endrime and Snake and Dagger as other sustainably-minded designers that inspire his work.
“One of the common threads throughout them all is how Blackhorse Lane Atelier is so central to many of them,” Berry said. “It’s great that they have a factory here in London that is the only craft jean maker in London.’
Berry has been back in London in the recent past, at his Soho Records installation in the heart of London and at the London Art Fair. Berry gained notoriety for his commissioned portraits of stars like Debbie Harry, Jennifer Saunders, Armani, Lapo Elkann and Ayrton Senna.
Courtesy ianberry.art
“When I started my work 14 years ago, it wasn’t really the sustainable message I was really thinking about,” Berry said, adding that the nature of his work has introduced him to the breadth of sustainable denim technologies available on the market. “I love to support genuine projects and ideals that link to sustainability and I’m often surprised and intrigued by many of the sustainable technologies – not least like TENCEL™ and of course my friends at Tonello, amongst others.”
You can see see Berry’s Selfridges installation, as well as his other work, by following him on Instagram @ianberry.art.