Photograph by Ed Pollard, Hasselblad H4D50 - 2011.

Images(2)

Photograph by Ed Pollard, Canon EOS-1Ds Mark II digital slr-2009.

Reclining Dress Impression

Artist Karen LaMonte (American, b. 1967)

CultureAmerican

Date2009

MediumCast glass

Dimensions20 1/8 × 63 3/8 × 15 3/4 in. (51.1 × 161 × 40 cm)

Credit LineGift of the Mowbray Arch Society in memory of Arnold B. McKinnon, 2009

Object number2009.15

Collections

Glass Art

On View

Chrysler Museum of Art, Gallery 108

DescriptionThis is a cast glass sculpture of the drapery or dress of a reclining figure composed of four pieces of kiln-cast colorless glass. The pieces were sandblasted and acid-etched to create a silky, translucent effect. The sections of the dress include the arm, the torso, and two sections of the skirt.

Label TextKaren LaMonte American (b. 1967) Reclining Dress Impression, 2009 Cast glass Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, VA Gift of the Mowbray Arch Society in memory of Arnold B. McKinnon, 2009 2009.15 Born and schooled in New York, Karen LaMonte now lives in the Czech Republic, where she has worked for the past ten years. There, she utilizes the unique glassmaking facilities to create her glass dresses. Influenced by ancient marble sculptures, contemporary and historical clothing, and the early-twentieth-century French fashion designs of Madame Grès (1903-1993), LaMonte's dresses are firmly rooted in Western art-historical traditions. Her cast-glass work features drapery, with its dramatic folds and delicate trimmings, in ways that accentuate sensuality, convey status, and dictate morality. LaMonte explores the question: are we defined by our clothing or does our clothing define us? The rules of fashion are tied to perceptions of gender and class, and often obscure the identity of the individual. LaMonte's carefully crafted translucent dresses illuminate this fragile space between our public and private selves. ProvenanceArtist's collection; Gift of the Mowbray Arch Society, Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, Va., 2009.Exhibition History"Women of the Chrysler: a 400-Year Celebration of the Arts," Large Changing Gallery, Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, Va., March 24 - July 18, 2010.Published References_New Glass Review_, 31 (New York: Corning Museum of Glass, 2010): 107. Don Harrison, "Art Unveiled," _Coastal Virginia Magazine,_ April 2014, 52. Diane C. Wright (editor), _Glass Masterworks from the Chrysler Museum of Art_ (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2017), pg. 192-193.