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Friday, 26 October 2007 | Levent OZLER
Ethereal Elegance: Fashion Art of Steven Stipelman
The 2007 Art and Design Faculty Exhibition The Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) will showcase ETHEREAL ELEGANCE: FASHION ART OF STEVEN STIPELMAN in Gallery FIT from November 10 through December 15, 2007. Approximately 60 images in acrylic, watercolor, and color pencil by Professor Stipelman of FIT's Fashion Design department will be on view. This is the annual faculty show organized by a committee from FIT's School of Art and Design Exhibition Committee.
It is only the second time a solo artist has been chosen for the exhibition. Sculptor and FIT Professor of Fine Arts Robert Schechter received this honor in 2001.
A noted fashion illustrator, Mr. Stipelman has created innumerable sketches and renderings that have appeared in leading magazines and newspapers throughout the world. The hallmark of his work is fantasy, with an ethereal, dream-like quality. "It is my intention to create an expression that goes way beyond what fashion looks like-closer to what fashion feels like. Within this realm, I am able to create an effect in a drawing that reality and photography cannot offer," he said.
In documenting the work of such leading American and European designers as Geoffrey Beene, Coco Chanel, Christian Dior, and Yves Saint Laurent, Mr. Stipelman often drew from sketches or fabric swatches; he never saw the clothes. He had to imagine what the finished garment would look like, creating an illusion of it, rather than a real representation. Many of his sketches were done in acrylic on Color-aid paper, considered by some to be his signature technique-vibrant with subtle color, inspired and dramatic, refined yet bold.
Mr. Stipelman began his career in the mid 1960s. From 1964 to 1991, he was employed by Fairchild Publications, providing illustrations for Women's Wear Daily and W. Several outstanding examples of these are included in this exhibition. Each example of his art captures the unique flavor of the decade in which it was created. For example, his work from the 1960s chronicles the transformation of a world of elegance and refinement into one of revolution, where conventions were overthrown.
Mr. Stipelman graduated from FIT in 1963 with a degree in Fashion Illustration. Soon after, the college asked him to teach an illustration class, which he continued to do while working in the field. He became a full-time member of the FIT faculty in 1993.
Mr. Stipelman's work has been shown in exhibitions at Cornell University, the University of Nebraska, Kent State University, and Mount Mary College. He is the author of Illustrating Fashion: Concept to Creation (Fairchild), used in Fashion Design courses at FIT and other colleges around the country.
The Museum at FIT is located on the southwest corner of Seventh Avenue at 27th Street. Exhibition hours are Tuesday through Friday, noon to 8 pm; Saturday 10 am to 5pm; closed Sundays, Mondays, and legal holidays. Admission is free.
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