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Études x Chloe Wise

Taking a critical stance on consumer capitalism while simultaneously celebrating its glory, the artist Chloe Wise treats her world as a comedic tragedy. Her practice, which spans from painting all the way over to sculpture and video, dissects intricate patterns that tag along with our hyper-construed selves in this 21st century. By depicting her friends next to PURELL hand-sanitizer or an open can of Nestlé condensed milk in the form of still-life portraiture, Wise parodies our modern ways of desiring where excess has become the trope of ‘meaningful’ living. Her paintings’ recurrent gesture of documenting people in a group setting draws attention to the importance of communal existence; how it’s often here—in the company of others—that we get to feel and confirm our individuality.

With the intention to reflect further Études’ theme for this very season—Diffusion/Illusion—Wise’s group portraitures (Tormentedly Untainted, 2019 and You Definitely Lied To The Right Person, 2019) are appropriated onto several items of the collection. Printed to scale on silky shirting, pleated skirts, a robe and other pieces of clothing, this particular juncture between art and fashion functions as a relief for extreme times in which the ever-rising familiarity to exhaust seems to have become the new norm to exist.