Experimental shoes in art and design
9 JUNE - 3 SEPTEMBER 2023 PÉCS GALLERY MON-FRI: 13.00-19.00
Exhibition of the artists of the Virtual Shoe Museum. Curated by Liza Snook and Amber Ambrose Aurele.
"Women in high heels are more dangerous than a loaded gun." - says Flemish designer and art historian Amber Ambrose, who has made a name for herself in the world with her designs for special "sky-high heels".
His work explores the boundaries of fashion and art, questioning social expectations and urging the exploration of new universes and new visions. As a designer, she seeks to build bridges between art, fashion, the human body, cultures, craftsmanship and a commitment to sustainable, innovative techniques and materials. Her work has been featured in major exhibitions and fashion magazines around the world. She teaches the next generation of designers in the Netherlands and China, but also organizes exhibitions and has a passion for working on concepts that connect people and captivate viewers. It's no coincidence that the LOKART festival is launching with a joint exhibition between her and Liza Snook, curator and shoe collector. The two women are unbeatable in shoes and shoe illusions. For the sake of Illusion, they are putting together what they have.
Liza Snook started her graphic design studies at the Royal Academy of The Hague in the 1980s and collected almost everything related to shoes: wearables she found while travelling, books about shoes, postcards, articles. In 2004, she created VirtualShoeMuseum.com with her partner and interaction designer Taco Zwaanswijk. It is a digital platform for shoe enthusiasts and professionals to search for shoes by designer, colour, type or material. The website also features a shoe of the day, a list of upcoming shoe shows and a blog. Everything shoes: wearable pieces, paintings, sculptures, illustrations, videos. In the "materials" menu, you can find samples made of leather, textiles, but also jellyfish, glass, sugar, blood, seaweed and many more.
Liza has been working as a picture editor for Workman Publishers New York's annual shoe calendar since 2008, judging at various design schools in the Netherlands and abroad, giving lectures and helping young designers to launch their careers. He has started to create and organise exhibitions of his digital collection in collaboration with museums, galleries and events around the world.
In 2013, his exhibition "Starker Auftritt - Experimental Shoe Design", consisting of 120 experimental shoes, was on show at the Grassi Museum of Applied Arts in Leipzig, Germany.
In 2014, he organised the special exhibition "History under your feet - 3000 years of shoes" at the Spielzeug Welten Museum in Basel, Switzerland. In collaboration with the Northampton Museum in England, home to the world's largest historical shoe collection, this exhibition of more than 220 pairs of shoes took visitors on a journey through 3000 years of footwear. The fruitful collaboration continued with further exhibitions, adding hats and headdresses to the collection.
Liza Snook and Amber Ambrose Aurèle first met in 2017, working together for the first time on the exhibition "Jan Jansen Shoe Treasures" - J. J. Shoe Secrets in Amsterdam and Arnhem and on a book. Curated by the two women, the unique works of art sent from around the world, specially created for this project, pay tribute to the iconic shoe designer Jan Jansen. All artworks are inspired by shoes from the private collection of Jan & Tonny Jansen. The artists were given carte blanche to create new objects from selected Jan Jansen shoes.
Liza and Amber have now brought to Pécs an exhibition of the world's shoe wonders, wearable pieces, shoe sculptures and installations. A must see for everyone!
We are unique in that our portfolio includes nearly 300 city centre shops,
offices, shops, restaurants, cafés and catering outlets, and
other properties, which are important and emblematic places of Pécs
is.
Back to other blog articles New Taxonomy of Illusions - Animation and Digital Drawing exhibitionJúlia Farkas, Melinda Kádár, Zsuzsanna KreifSound installation by József Iszlai2023.06.21-09.07,
We asked Andrea Dénes, art collector and art patron, one of the jury members of LOKART, about the biennale, the city, its professional background, the jury's criteria and the Hungarian contemporary art scene.
about fine art.
2023. 06.09. – 09.03.
PÉCSI GALÉRIA
WEDNESDAY-SUNDAY: 11.00-19.00
Exhibition of the artists of the Virtual Shoe Museum. Curated by Liza Snook and Amber Ambrose Aurele.
This exhibition will make you wonder “What’s a shoe?” If we don’t immediately identify the shape of the shoe, is it a shoe? There is conceptual and layered work that makes you look twice, because here is much more happening than a pair of wearable shoes. Does the shoe have to be wearable to be a shoe? The exhibition presents a remarkable selection of footwear by International and Hungarian artists and designers. Some approach it from the point of view of construction and expression, others from the study of materials and technique. The multifaceted potential of shoes as a creative medium is reflected not only in the shoes themselves, but also in installations, photographs and videos. Cipőfantáziák / Shoe Fantasies is the result of a cooperation between Pécs Gallery and the Virtual Shoe Museum, curated by Liza Snook and Amber Ambrose Aurèle Verstegen. VirtualShoeMuseum.com is a digital platform for shoe enthusiasts and professionals, where you can search shoes by designer, color, type or material. There is a wide choice of materials: shoes made of leather, textile, jellyfish, glass, sugar, blood, seaweed and many others. Liza Snook has collected almost everything to do with shoes: wearables she has found while travelling, books about shoes, postcards, articles. In 2004 she created this digital platform with her partner Taco Zwaanswijk, where you can find an extensive choice of shoes: wearable shoes, paintings, sculptures, illustrations or videos. From this collection she creates exhibitions about shoes in art and design, in collaboration with various museums, galleries and events around the world.
"Women in heels are more dangerous than a loaded gun" - says Amber Ambrose Aurèle
Dutch designer known for his "sky-high heels". His shoe designs push the boundaries of fashion and art
tickles. As a designer, she wants to build bridges between art, fashion, the human body, cultures, and the world of the
craftsmanship and a love of sustainable or innovative techniques and materials. Her work
have been featured in numerous exhibitions and fashion magazines around the world. She teaches the new
generation of designers in the Netherlands and China.
.
These shoe fantasias were specially presented as part of the LOKART Festival Prologue in Pécs.
selected for the exhibition. Everyone should see this!
Photos:
Liza Snook - Charlotte Visser
Amber AmbroseAurèle - Milan Gino
