Fashion has taken over the galleries inside the Southampton Arts Center — a two-piece set from Gaspar Libedinsky; a silver dress, laden with crystal, by Nazareth Pacheco; a photo of a plain white T-shirt from Milagros de la Torre.
But this is not your average catwalk.
Upon closer inspection, the two-piece set is made from grey rags. Hanging from the glittering dress are sharp razor blades. And the plain white T-shirt? Bulletproof.
“Second Skin,” curated by art scholar Estrellita B. Brodsky, is a study in identity, gender, culture and political activism as seen through the lens of clothing and design in approximately 30 works from the early 1950s to date, with a strong emphasis on Latin American artists.
“Fashion is not neutral,” Brodsky said.
The exhibition features photography, sculpture, textiles, wearable objects and archival material. Some of the artists, like Felix Baudry and Nazareth Pacheco, craft their own clothing to propose alternative identities, or shields against political violence or sexual aggression.
Others, such as Joiri Minaya and Stephanie Syjuco, cull commercially available ethnic patterns and tropical prints to subvert racial and colonial thinking — all the while critiquing the fashion industry’s beauty standards and commodification of bodies.
“I think it’s great to give recognition to these artists, Latino artists, and especially in a community that’s so well served by the Latino population,” the curator said. “My banner is always to give pride to people and people’s culture in a way that is respectful. That’s one of my big goals, in whatever I do.”
Brodsky, who is also a collector and philanthropist, was born in New York City to a Uruguayan mother and Venezuelan father, who came to the United States in the mid-1940s, she said.
“I grew up being very aware of the rich culture of Latin America,” she said, “and also the disconnect with the North American public.”
It inspired her work on the global stage, where she is a champion of Latin American art and its diaspora. While studying at New York University’s Institute of Fine Arts, her Ph.D. thesis, “Latin American Artists in Post-War Paris,” received the Association of Latin American Art’s award for best doctoral dissertation.
“That’s why a lot of my work is also recognizing a generation of artists who have been overlooked,” she said of her professional focus, “as well as the richness of the culture that I think should instill pride in Latinos in this country, as well as respect from others.”
Over the course of her career, Brodsky has supported cultural programs and initiatives at international institutions, from the Metropolitan Museum of Art to the Centre Pompidou in France. She has curated exhibitions in Miami, Sao Paulo, Buenos Aires and New York City — where she also runs her own not-for-profit gallery, Another Space — as well as the East End.
“Second Skin” is the sequel to “Spin a Yarn,” an exhibition presented last spring at Guild Hall in East Hampton that explored textiles as tools of storytelling — whereas this new show, on view now through December 28, shifts the focus to fashion as wearable, lived objects that can serve as critical sites.
The exhibition unfolds through the three thematically curated galleries: the first highlighting fashion as a marker of identity, the second an examination of garments as protective devices, and the third a consideration of clothing as consumer products within global markets.
But the first piece that visitors will see is “The Gift” by Raúl de Nieves — a sculpture wearing a vintage silk robe, adorned in beads, feathers, bells, silk ribbons, sequins and more, all donated by the artist’s friends — soaring about 7 feet high, Brodsky said.
“I think people will be surprised,” she said. “It’s not a normal fashion show.”
“Second Skin,” a group exhibition exploring the intersection of art and fashion, will have an opening reception on Saturday, October 11, from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Southampton Arts Center, 25 Jobs Lane, Southampton. The show will remain on view through December 28. For more information, visit southamptonartscenter.org.
