Museum of Contemporary Art

Duro Olowu

Seeing Chicago

29 Feb - 27 Sep 2020

Installation view, Duro Olowu: Seeing Chicago, MCA Chicago. Feb 29–Sep 27, 2020
Photo: Nathan Keay, © MCA Chicago
Duro Olowu, Spring/Summer 2020, Look 22. Photo: Christina Ebenezer. Terry Adkins, Omohundro, 2002. Brass and copper; 60 × 29 × 8 in. (152.4 × 73.7 × 20.3 cm). Collection Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, promised gift of Helen and Sam Zell, PG2018.1. Photo: Courtesy of the artist and Salon 94, New York. Henri Matisse, Laurette with a Cup of Coffee, 1916–17. Oil on canvas; 22 11/16 × 15 11/16 in. (57.6 × 39.8 cm). The Art Institute Chicago, Estate of Marguerita S. Ritman; Marian and Samuel Klasstorner Endowment; through prior gifts of Philip D. Armour; through prior bequests of Dorothy C. Morris and Marguerita S. Ritman © 2019 Succession H. Matisse / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York) Photo: The Art Institute of Chicago/Art Resource, NY
DURO OLOWU
Seeing Chicago
29 February – 27 September 2020

Griffin Galleries of Contemporary Art
Fourth Floor

Duro Olowu works at the crossroads of fashion, art, and culture.
Nigerian-born British designer Duro Olowu is internationally recognized for his womenswear label launched in 2004. Characterized by unique fabrics, evocative patterns, and impeccable construction, the London-based designer’s garments are informed by his international background and curator’s eye. Olowu’s multinational and multicultural viewpoint has translated into wildly popular platforms and projects from his dynamic Instagram account to his revelatory curatorial projects in London and New York.

Now Olowu turns his cosmopolitan eye to Chicago. Drawing from the city’s public and private art collections including works in the MCA’s collection, Olowu curates a show that reimagines relationships between artists and objects across time, media, and geography. Moving away from traditional exhibition formats, Olowu combines photographs, paintings, sculptures, and films in dense and textural scenes that incorporate his own work.

The exhibition is guest-curated by Duro Olowu and organized for the MCA by Naomi Beckwith, Manilow Senior Curator, with Jack Schneider, Curatorial Assistant.