Patricia Field Art Collection: the World of Patricia Field
The Patricia Field boutique, where Madonna, Debbie Harry, and Jean-Michel Basquiat were regulars, existed as a melting pot of cultures where musicians, their fans, artists, celebrities, downtown personalities, and fashionistas from around the world met and mingled.
In 1983, the Patricia Field’s East Village shop sold T-shirts created by Keith Haring ? a perfect collaboration between Field’s philosophy of “fashion as wearable art” and Haring’s philosophy of “art is for everyone.”
Another alluring factor about the boutique, which neighbored the now closed CBGB’s and the legendary Bowery Poetry Club, was its expansive art collection. Artworks ranging from paintings, photography, posters, sculptures, to prints adorned the walls of the shop. Most of the works were created by unknown and undiscovered artists, all of which exhibited immense artistry and technique, interacting and displayed with the same revere as the glamorous garments of the boutique.
Including the works in her boutique, office, home, and storage, Field was a proud owner of over 300 pieces of art that she collected herself. The collection also includes pieces created by artists, designers, and fans who were inspired by Patricia Field and the House of Field. Each artwork has a significance and special story, and, as Field explains, “…the art collection is my memories of 50 years of my career. They’re treasures of the House of Field.”
As the boutique closed its doors in the spring of 2016 after leaving its mark in New York City for over half a century, the Nakamura Keith Haring Collection continues its legacy by preserving 190 of the main pieces in its collection.
The Patricia Field Art Collection reflects the styles of the East Village underground culture, which include the downtown club, music, and street art scene.
The exhibition will not only focus on Patricia Field’s unique vision and the origin of her immense influence on the fashion world, but will also focus on her art collection. The works were created outside of the boundaries, mode, and style of that time, and were created with unconventional approach, without aspirations of fame, evoking the art brut* movement.
The Nakamura Keith Haring Collection presents the dynamic and compelling works alongside and in dialogue with Keith Haring in the exhibition Patricia Field Art Collection: the World of Patricia Field.
*Art Brut translates as “raw art” coined by Jean Dubuffet in 1945 and can be described as Outsider Art)
ABOUT PATRICIA FIELD
Born in New York City in 1942, the legendary costume designer and stylist Patricia Field is best known for the success of her work in film and TV such as the Devil Wears Prada (2006) and Sex and the City (1998-2004). Even before her two Emmy wins and Oscar nomination in 2007, Patricia Field had her boutique in New York City and had already been playing a major role in the New York fashion, art, and culture scene for half a century since the store’s opening in 1966.
In Japan, Field had collaborated with Namie Amuro for Vidal Sassoon commercials in 2008, and has also styled a unique runway show for an American Express campaign. Patricia Field has also produced a Sex and the City costume exhibition in Melbourne in 2013 and in Perth, Australia in 2014.
Patricia Field’s boutique closed in the spring of 2016. With the closing of her boutique, Field embarked on a new project titled Art / Fashion, which promotes the concept of “wearable art.” Her approach to curate fashion into art is her new innovative way of styling. Art / Fashion made its debut during Art Basel Miami Beach in December 2016.
