Piet Paris, Valentina, 2022 | Claes Iversen, couture, 2019, photo: Studio Martijn Senders, 2021 | Vašícek Aleš, Air, 1991, glass
The exhibition Piet Paris and Others - Illustrations, Glass Art, Fashion at Museum JAN showcases work by fashion illustrator Piet Paris. Piet Paris, pseudonym of Pieter 't Hoen (born 1962), responds with new work to the unique glass art collection of Museum JAN. His drawings are brought into dialogue with fashion designs by leading fashion designers such as Viktor & Rolf, Claes Iversen, Spijkers & Spijkers, and Benchellal. Glass, drawings, and fashion are presented side by side, revealing the basic principles behind each of Piet Paris' drawings: form, color, and symmetry.
Piet Paris
Pieter 't Hoen (1962, The Hague), alias Piet Paris, graduated from Arnhem University of Applied Sciences in 1988. In 1998, he was one of the co-founders of the master's program at the Arnhem Fashion Institute at ArteZ. He also continues to teach drawing to fashion students at the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague.
He gained fame with his illustrations featuring characteristic lines, bright colors, and female figures with slender silhouettes. For 25 years, his drawings have been published in various national and international newspapers and magazines such as Vogue and Elle. Piet Paris is an integral part of the international fashion world, with drawings for catwalk looks and the design of the catwalk decoration for Victor & Rolf.
Present
Piet Paris is fascinated by 'aesthetics' and 'presentation'. Just as in his drawings, composition and color combinations are crucial to the presentation of fashion and design. For example, he designed illustrations, displays, and shop windows for the American department store Saks Fifth Avenue and was curator of the Arnhem Fashion Biennale three times (2005, 2007, and 2009). He is presenting a special exhibition at Museum JAN, based on this unique perspective on presenting, curating, and illustrating. What do glass, drawings, and fashion have in common? Piet Paris analyzes the designs and reduces them to various core values such as line, form, texture, and 'the soul'.
In addition to new and existing drawings by Piet Paris, this exhibition features fashion items by designers such as Viktor & Rolf, Claes Iversen, Spijkers en Spijkers, BENCHELLAL, Ronald van der Kemp, Loïs Brandsen, Schepers Bosman, David Laport, Stijn Koks, Jef Montes, Dirk Vaessen, MARTAN, Bastiaan Thijssen, G+N, and DIED. Various (glass) artworks from the Museum JAN collection are also on display, including works by Jan Verschoor, Aleš Vašícek, Stanislav Libensky, Willem Heesen, and Ritsue Mishima, which inspired Paris to create new drawings. Fashion journalist, presenter, and author Fiona Hering, who knows Piet Paris well, wrote the exhibition texts.