KENT, Ohio – The Kent State University School of Art’s Downtown Gallery will present “Wearable Spaces,” a solo exhibit featuring the work of J.R. Campbell, director of Kent State’s Fashion School. “Wearable Spaces” will run Jan. 14 – Feb. 14 at the gallery, located at 141 E. Main St. in downtown Kent. An opening reception will take place Thursday, Jan. 15, from 5–7 p.m. Both the gallery and the reception are free and open to the public.
According to Campbell, the exhibit traces “the connections between how we perceive ourselves through clothing and how we impact the environments we inhabit, clothing being a kind of environment.”
The pieces displayed fall into three broad categories of wearable spaces. The first category consists of functional garments that make an explicit homage to architecture. One kimono, for instance, is an interpretation of the work of Scottish architect and designer Charles Rennie Mackintosh (1868–1928), who was a leading practitioner of the art nouveau style.
Another category consists of “geometric interpretations of space” somewhere between sculpture and garments. “I want people to think about the space they occupy and what it would be like to physically occupy these pieces,” says Campbell.
The final category includes interactive wall pieces that are at once installation and wearable garments. These printed wall pieces have garments sewn into them that blend in as part of the printed imagery. One jacket depicts the specific space where it is currently installed. Visitors to the exhibit will be able to try on a similar piece created for a gallery in Dundee, Scotland.
Campbell has been actively researching, designing and creating within the realm of digital textile technology for nearly twenty years. His work pushes the limits of imaging technologies as they relate to clothing, our environment and the human form. Campbell’s art and design work has been shown in over seventy national and international exhibitions, receiving twenty awards, including the International Artist of the Year Award from the South Korean Fashion & Culture Association in 2010. Campbell has consulted for a number of academic institutions integrating technology into their teaching and research labs, and has published on design issues, controlling color and using technology in textile and apparel design.
Contact: Anderson Turner, director of galleries, 330-672-1369, haturner@kent.edu
(Image: "Rainbow Tunnel" by J.R. Campbell)