The Gagosian Director has teamed up with Matches Fashion for this year’s Frieze festival – here, he talks more about the collaboration, as well as his views on contemporary art and fashion
Gagosian director Antwaun Sargent has teamed up with Matches Fashion for their new, monthly art and culture programme. The events, titled Art.Matches.Fashion, are part of a year-long examination of the relationship between art and fashion, combining podcasts, fashion shoots, events and partnerships. And this month, to tie in with New York’s Frieze Festival, Sargent is the central focus.
The Chicago-born writer, editor and curator has been living in New York for several years, and has become a pioneer in the city’s art scene, perhaps best known for his book The New Black Vanguard. In a short film for Art.Matches.Fashion, he takes viewers inside his favourite Manhattan art institutions, including Dashwood book store, Chelsea’s High Line, and the Performance Space gallery.
“Ten years ago, [the art world] was very different,” Sargent tells AnOther. “It was a small world, there was a lot less fashion, there was a lot less diversity and you didn’t have much of a spotlight on younger artists.” Because of this, the curator believes that we are currently living through a “very exciting” new era for art. “There is no prescribed way of doing things now,” he adds. “At no other point in the history of art, have we had this many people engaged, this many artists creating, this many writers writing, this many curators curating exhibitions. There are different perspectives on art and our notions of art can be are changing so rapidly.”
As well as the video tour, which was released earlier this month, Sargent will also be sharing his own Matches Fashion Curated By collection. The edit will feature some of his favourite clothes and accessories, all of which will be available to view and buy on the Matches site from May 19. “I spend so much time with artists, and my style is reflective of who I am and the work I do,” says Sargent. “For example, I’m really attracted to colour, which isn’t that shocking if you consider that I’m often engaged with artists who experiment with it.”
That said, the collection will feature more neutral, muted tones: “Usually, I wear one colour. Lately, I’ve been into browns and nude tones, there are some black moments because it’s New York and everyone wears black here. There’s a play with shape, volume and texture. And I’m always thinking about materiality.”
You can see Sargent’s Curated By collection on the official Matches Fashion website from May 19.
