ART SHOES- Shoes in Contemporary Art

Shoes and Art
Painted, modeled, installed

Can shoes be art? At this question, an army of fashionable
women might be inclined to shake their heads in amazement,
to give a loud and passionate yes and enthusiastically cite the
most beautiful models - be it loudly decorated ballerinas,
elegantly minimalist high heels, exceptional colour
compositions in courts, refined strap lacings in sandals and
many more – praising them with fervour. They might dub
some well-known shoe-creator as an “artist” and mean it very
seriously in view of his fashion statements regarding the
coveted footwear. Surreal, curious, playful, technological,
formal: anything is possible.
But the shoe can do more than just bring - especially feminine
- emotions to the boil. It is more than an obsession: above and
beyond the fashionable aspect, it deserves the honour of being
something like the icing on the cake, because there is no
successful outfit without the right shoe. Its down-to-earth
dominance cannot be broken, and its character is essential for
the whole thing.
But what if we look at the shoe from a different perspective?
What if we see not the shoe as art, but the shoe in art? It
then often takes on a whole new meaning. Then its
appearance can be an allegory, a reality or a symbol. The
Düsseldorf Art Gallery PETRA NOSTHEIDE-EŸCKE has been
working on its own project “shoes” for a year now and has
invited more than twelve artists to get to grips with this issue.
The resulting works are bundled in a joint exhibition with the
title “ART SHOES-Shoes in Contemporary Art”, which can be
seen as a traveling exhibition at several locations, including
museums. The internationality of the creatives involved from
Holland, England, Germany, Cuba and Romania brings
different cultural languages with it, which are reflected in the
shoe works.
Whether painted, modeled or installed: the artists write their
own message in and with the protagonist the shoe. This can
be, for example, the symbolic representation of the “torture of
fashion” as with Svenja Ritter, who menacingly lines her
breathtakingly beautiful shoes with the toughest plastic spikes,
and Maurice van Tellingen who enlivens the bare hall
ambience of a building with sound: with the shuffling,
clomping and clacking of - shoes!
The exhibition “ART SHOES” is to be presented for the first
time from 31.7. - 27.09.2014 on the premises of the
Düsseldorf gallery. The private view is on 29.7., one day before
the official start of the GDS and the preview on 30.7.
The exhibition is supported by the International Shoe Fair GDS
in Düsseldorf and is under the patronage of Dr. Claudia Schulz,
press spokeswoman of the DSI.
Participating artists: SUZANE DAN | IRIS SCHIEFERSTEIN |
PETER SIMON | ZHENIA COUSO MARTELL | GÈ- KAREL VAN
DER STERREN | MARTIN FENNE | BIRGIT KAHLE | MELANIE
RICHTER | SVENJA RITTER | PETER GILLES | MAURICE VAN
TELLINGEN | SABINE WILD

Private view I 29.7. 2014 (by personal invitation)
Preview I 30.7. 2014 I 5-9 pm
Exhibition 31.-27.9.2014
Special opening times parallel to the GDS
31.7. + 1.8. I 1-9 pm