Although Amelia Cross While she subscribes to the belief that our clothing choices are a way of expressing who we are and what we care about, she also knows that there are more subliminal details to personal style. A name tag curling at the edges or a pin poking through a breast pocket stands in stark contrast to a perfectly pressed collar or shiny brogues, but each also has the potential to conceal or disguise. It is these hidden elements that the London-born artist is most interested in.
After obtaining a degree in tailoring from the London College of Fashion, followed by a master’s degree in painting from the Royal College of Art, Cross began to fuse the two disciplines. “I originally painted figureless clothing compositions on a flat linen surface, but felt my hands itching to use my sewing machine in addition to painting. I started making small studies of sewn pockets and structured collars with painted objects and buttons, and I found this strange juxtaposition of the real and painted shadows really intriguing,” she said.
The artist landed on the concept of “sewn paintings,” which combine trompe l’œil methods with constructed, sculptural details. Illusionary in technique and readable in subject matter, the works push the viewer to decipher which three-dimensional components are real.
Cross stretches her own canvases and sometimes considers the wooden armature as a body, a body that she can dress and style. More focused works concentrate on a single bag or pair of shoes. However, many of her ideas emerge from observing other commuters on the London Underground. She explains:
During rush hour you are often packed into a carriage like sardines. That’s why my paintings sometimes have a narrow, tight cut, because I can only see part of the garment at a time. You can almost build an entire character for someone based on what’s in his pocket or what socks he wears to work!
For her solo exhibition Discipline and displayj at Nino Mier GalleryCross is concerned with dress codes, uniforms and the overt or more unconscious rules that determine how we put together an outfit. The hidden agendas and social structures that determine fashion are also reflected in the artist’s compositions.
“I often hide secrets or confessions in the works (some on display and some completely hidden), such as painted labels on the inside of the collar, messages in pockets and buttons on the sides and bottom of paintings,” she adds. The aim is to entice the viewer to get up close and personal with the disembodied forms, offering the opportunity to study the smallest details and signals that we might otherwise miss.
If you are in New York, Discipline and displayy can be seen until August 7. Otherwise, you can find more from Cross Instagram.
