Paris’ Galerie Kreo is letting us into the edgeless, immersive world of Virgil Abloh. The Paris gallery opened the doors to “Virgil Abloh: Echosystems” earlier this week: an expansive collection of Abloh’s most recent pieces, alongside an array of work from the visual polymath’s key creative inspirations including Jean-Michel Basquiat and Keith Haring.
Abloh’s diverse range of work bridged gaps between communities and blurred the boundaries of genre, and in the Hugo Vitrani-curated exhibit, the fluidity of Abloh’s creations exists at the forefront. Vitrani tapped into Abloh’s origin story to compile a cohesive yet provocative array of art from the artist himself which includes: the “WORLD LEADERS” ladder, “TOWER HILLS” chair in embossed bronze and “MIDWAY VILLAGE” bench.
In the exhibition’s description, Vitrani conveys the significance of Abloh’s “distinct experiences” in his work. Abloh has always been immune to categorization, born and raised in the intersection of many defined cultures and communities – “one of a black American child with Ghanaian heritage, raised on the outskirts of Chicago in a predominantly white neighborhood. One of a child brought up on the rhythms and lyrics of Fela Kuti, James Brown, and Miles Davis. One of an adolescent infected with the skateboarding virus — a virus that allows one to traverse the city on wheels, subverting its utilitarian structures and thwarting their practical purposes,” – Vitrani explains.
Galerie Kreo
Galerie Kreo
Galerie Kreo
Galerie Kreo
Galerie Kreo
Other artists on display span Erwan Bouroullec, Sophie Bramly, Martha Cooper, Bruce Davidson, Tom Dixon, Marcel Duchamp, Futura 2000, Konstantin Grcic, Gordon Matta-Clark, A. R. Penck, Jerszy Seymour, Pablo Tomek and Dondi White.
“Virgil Abloh: Echosystems” is on display through November 1 at the below address. Not in Paris? Take a closer look at the intricacies of the exhibition on Galerie Kreo’s website.
Galerie Kreo
31 Rue Dauphine
75006 Paris, France
Take a closer look at Abloh’s WORLD LEADERS ladders, also part of Galerie Kreo’s current “Step by Step” exhibition – a collection of elevated iterations of ladders.
Elsewhere in the art world, step into Harmony Korine’s infrared dystopia in the artist’s new series of paintings.
