Art as Fashion
with Chris Bogia & Travis Boyer
FIBER 633 001 | 3 credits | $175 lab fee
June 29–July 12, 2025
For artists interested in the intersection of art and fashion, this class will engage with the politics, processes, and history of adornment as jumping-off points for creative making. We will consider how artists translate a personal fascination with fashion and incorporate that into a larger studio practice through learning techniques for fast and fun textile manipulation and creation, producing wearable art, and hosting community activities that stem from our in-class discussions and lectures. We will look at the work of artists including Jeffrey Gibson, Beverly Semmes, Nick Cave, and Anna Uddenberg and designers such as Miuccia Prada, Hussein Chalayan, Rei Kawakubo, and Viktor & Rolf. Readings and screenings will include interviews, daily runway show viewings featuring designers mentioned above, and more. Students will be invited to use any materials they wish, from traditional paint on canvas and textiles with embellishments such as beading, appliqué, and dye to materials like cardboard, found objects, and objects from nature. This is not a sewing-heavy class nor a fashion design class, but students who possess those skills and have an interest in using them to make art are encouraged to apply.
Chris Bogia, Flowers (Pink), 2023, wood, metal, veneer, grass cloth wallpaper, and lacquer, 72 x 47 x 8 in.
Chris Bogia (he/him) is an artist from Astoria, Queens whose work—spanning works on paper, textile compositions, and sculpture—incorporates materials and strategies from professional design fields including interior design, fashion, and videogames. Recently, Bogia has been considering public spaces, creating outdoor sculptures and permanent institutional commissions. Recent exhibitions include the Dallas Art Fair with Mrs., a solo exhibition with Hermès in Los Angeles; a two-person exhibition at Halsey McCay, East Hampton; and a group exhibition at Ortega Y’ Gasset, Brooklyn; and Perrotin, Paris. Recent public works include a project with the Public Art Fund at LaGuardia Airport, a mural at the Knockdown Center in Maspeth, Queens; sculpture installations with The Lighthouse Works on Fishers Island, New York and Foreland in Catskills, New York; and a permanent work in the Bronx with the NYC School Construction Authority. Bogia is represented by Mrs. and teaches sculpture at New York University. He is the co-founder and former executive director of Fire Island Artist Residency (FIAR), the first LGBTQ artist residency in the world. His writing has appeared in a Artforum.
Travis Boyer (he/him) was born in Fort Worth, Texas. He lives and works in New York City. He holds a BFA in Fibers from UNT and he received his MFA with a concentration in painting from Bard College in 2012. Boyer’s practice employs a range of media and methods: from painting, textile, sculpture, photography, and is known for making sumptuous paintings using dye on silk velvet. While diverse in form, this body of work is fundamentally grounded in textiles to explore the nature of desire. Boyer's paintings are in the permanent collections of The High Museum, Atlanta; the Portland Museum of Art; and the Hood Museum. Boyer has exhibited internationally at museums and galleries including The Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam; The New Museum, New York; Kunstverein, Amsterdam; High Desert Test Sites, Joshua Tree, California, Palais des Beaux-Arts, France; CAMH, Houston; False Flag Gallery, New York; Johannes Vogt Gallery, New York; Participant Inc., New York;Noon Projects, Los Angeles; The Valley, Taos, and Peter Kilchmann, Paris; among others.
Travis Boyer, Limp Wrist, 2022, cyanotype, dye, and embroidery on silk in artist frame, 24 x 36 in.