Preview our Fall 2023 catalog, featuring more than 500 new books on art, photography, design, architecture, film, music and visual culture. Abloh cultivated an interest in design and music at an early age, finding inspiration in the urban culture of Chicago. While pursuing a master’s degree in architecture from the Illinois Institute of Technology, he worked on album covers, concert designs, and merchandising. In 2013, Abloh founded his stand-alone fashion brand Off-White™ in Milan, Italy, and, in 2018, assumed the position of artistic director of Louis Vuitton’s menswear.

Where previous iterations of the exhibition were designed by Samir Bantal, director of the research arm of Dutch studio OMA, the Brooklyn Museum's space was created by designer Mahfuz Sultan in collaboration with creatives from Alaska Alaska – Abloh's London-based design studio – as well as Lance Singletary of the Brooklyn Museum.From street fashion to high culture, the work of Virgil Abloh, a celebrated multihyphenate artist, is showcased in this book. Virgil Abloh: “Figures of Speech” was organized by the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, curated by Michael Darling, James W. Alsdorf Chief Curator, with curatorial assistance from Chanon Kenji Praepipatmongkol, Marjorie Susman Curatorial Fellow, and presented in the Griffin Galleries of Art, June 10–September 22, 2019. Virgil Abloh: “Figures of Speech” is organized by Michael Darling, former James W. Alsdorf Chief Curator, Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago. The Brooklyn Museum presentation is organized by writer and curator Antwaun Sargent. An exhibition like this in a major contemporary art museum is the next milestone in the evolution of Virgil’s practice,” Michael Darling, chief curator at MCA Chicago, said in a statement. “This show examines the choices Virgil has made, the media he works with, and the context of his artistic inspiration. His projects have unfurled with intention, precision, critique, historical awareness, cultural sensitivity, and rigor, and when taken out of the buzzy, frothy context of luxury fashion, celebrity mannequins, and hip hop one-upmanship, a very measured vision emerges.”

In the archives section, more than 1,800 never-before-seen images pulled from the artist's personal files reveal the remarkable breadth of his influences and collaborations. And the index cross references the catalogue plates--Abloh's works--with his projects and process, using a vocabulary of themes developed by Abloh. It comes in a cloth slipcase with "Personal Copy" silkscreened on the book fore edge, a measuring tape ribbon marker, and a flexi disc printed with a Juergen Teller photo that includes a recording of Virgil Abloh discussing his inspirations.

ArtsATL | “”Figures of Speech” at the High Museum “tells the story arc of my career,” says Virgil Abloh” Monochromatic Louis Vuitton pop-up stores featuring selections from the men’s fall/winter 2019 collection opened in Chicago’s West Loop ( orange) and in New York on the Lower East Side ( green). K. Frimpong & His Cubano Fiestas – Adam Nana”Extract of David Shrigley interview “Advice to the Young [White Label]

Throughout the show, Abloh’s connections with artists via inspirations and collaborations is evident. A Caravaggio painting is reproduced on Pyrex Vision products, an early clothing line that pre-dates Off-White. Abloh’s has also used a painting by Surrealist Giorgio de Chirico on a dress and attached rough cuts of fabric to coats and bags, a nod to the Italian modernist Lucio Fontana known for slashing his canvases. LEE ALEXANDER MCQUEEN: MIND, MYTHOS, MUSE DELMONICO BOOKS/LOS ANGELES COUNTY MUSEUM OF ART ISBN: 9781636810188 News about our Dezeen Awards programme, including entry deadlines and announcements. Plus occasional updates. Dezeen Events GuideDarling told the Chicago Tribune that when he approached Abloh, the designer initially thought he wanted him to DJ at the museum. Once he understood what the curator he had in mind, Abloh said he was ready. Because Figures of Speech was in the works for years, Sargent said: "It is, in fact, not at all in that way a memorial, right? It really is a show by a living artist." The thirty minute audio guide, by no means an innovation in museology, is particularly important to “Figures of Speech,” as it includes recognizable guests in Abloh’s world. Meant to enhance the visitor’s experience, the audio guide includes “art curator and historian Hans Ulrich Obrist, fashion critic Amy Verner, and No Vacancy Inn cofounders Tremaine Emory and Acyde, [and] explores Abloh’s career, ethos, and methodology around the creative process.” [2] In the introduction, each guest introduces themselves, allowing the visitor to familiarize themselves with each voice, while also introducing Abloh and his work.

The exhibition opened on June 10 and last month MCA Chicago announced it was extending its run by one week, “due to popular demand.” Now the show will remain on view until Sept. 29, and then it will travel to the High Museum of Art in Atlanta. This show examines the choices Virgil has made, the media he works with, and the context of his artistic inspiration. His projects have unfurled with intention, precision, critique, historical awareness, cultural sensitivity, and rigor, and when taken out of the buzzy, frothy context of luxury fashion, celebrity mannequins, and hip hop one-upmanship, a very measured vision emerges.” — MCA Chief Curator Michael Darling Our next session is a distinguished mentoring opportunity featuring Mr. Virgil Abloh, a Ghanaian-American creative, architect, engineer, and fashion designer. He is the artistic director of Louis Vuitton and the CEO of the Milan-based label Off-White. In addition to running major fashion brands and consulting, he DJs under the alias Flat-White. Abloh cultivated an interest in design and music at an early age, finding inspiration in the urban culture of Chicago. While pursuing a master’s degree in architecture from the Illinois Institute of Technology, he connected with Kanye West and joined West’s creative team to work on album covers, concert designs, and merchandising. In 2013, Abloh founded his stand-alone fashion brand Off-White™ in Milan, Italy, and in 2018 assumed the position of Men’s Artistic Director of Louis Vuitton.

Near these tables is a model of Chicago – Abloh's hometown – with a proposed skyscraper based on Abloh's master's thesis in Architecture at the Illinois Institute of Technology in 2003. When Abloh met Kanye West, the rapper and producer was fixated on design. Abloh came to prominence working with West, handling creative direction for everything from album covers to concert-related design and merchandising. Both Abloh and West, a Chicago native and fellow multi-hyphenate creative, were fashion fans who sought to disrupt and reinvent the European-dominated industry. They frequented the fashion shows in Paris, interned at Fendi, and made it their business to study the craft and business in anticipation of establishing their own brands. Taken together, Figures of Speech works as a holistic retrospective of Abloh's creative work. However, Sargent said that the Brooklyn Museum's show should be considered the last living work by Abloh, who passed away from a rare heart cancer in 2021.