Reclining Dress Impression
Artist
Karen LaMonte
(American, b. 1967)
Date2009
MediumCast glass
Dimensions20 1/8 × 63 3/8 × 15 3/4 in. (51.1 × 161 × 40 cm)
ClassificationsGlass
Credit LineGift of the Mowbray Arch Society in memory of Arnold B. McKinnon, 2009
Object number2009.15
Collections
On View
On viewLabel 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.
Unknown
Late Dynasty 5-early Dynasty 6, reigns of Unas or Pepy I, 2375-2287 B.C.E.
