Donna Karan has teamed with Mashonda Tifrere’s nonprofit Art Lead Her to put on an all-women exhibit called “King Woman” at Karan’s store and community space Urban Zen.
Pieces from Reisha Perlmutter, Delphine Diallo, Swoon and 12 other emerging and midcareer artists lined the walls of Urban Zen during a recent visit. Tifrere, dressed all in black just like Karan, pointed out one piece that especially moved her by Perlmutter. It’s a painting of a woman with vitiligo, her face peering above a pool of water in which her body’s submerged. Her hair is wet and slicked back.
“Reisha wanted to portray the woman in the portrait as strong and beautiful in her own skin,” Tifrere said. “On opening night, the woman came, and when she saw her picture hanging on the wall, she started bawling.”
There are individual stories like this one behind most of the pieces included in “King Woman”; Tifrere, who curated the showing, said it was imperative to forge relationships with the artists after selecting them to be part of the exhibition. She added she’d found all of them by looking around on Google and Instagram, then meeting them in person at art fairs.
Delphine Diallo’s “Highness” is on
Follow WWD on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook.
Read More…