CHICAGO — For Duro Olowu, scouring the basements of museums, museum archives and homes of private collectors while curating “Seeing Chicago,” the Museum of Contemporary Art exhibition opening Saturday, was like stumbling upon a store containing a gigantic stash of the highest-quality vintage couture textiles.
“Incredible, incredible collections,” says Olowu, the London-based designer, who collects couture fabrics from famed textile makers like Abraham. “Many of these things haven’t been shown in over 30 years. It was a treasure trove.”
With close to 350 works of art spanning six large galleries, “Duro Olowu: Seeing Chicago” is the MCA’s largest art exhibit to date and marks the first time the museum has hired a guest art curator. It is Olowu’s second time curating an exhibit, after overseeing the “Making & Unmaking” show at Camden Arts Centre in 2016 in London.
“The museums here have collections on par with the biggest art capitals of the world. Mixed in with the private collectors — you go into their homes and you can’t imagine, they have the most incredible contemporary art,” says Olowu, whose first retail account was in Chicago, at Ikram, in 2004. “I was glad to bring some of these things back into the museums.”
The exhibit
“Incredible, incredible collections,” says Olowu, the London-based designer, who collects couture fabrics from famed textile makers like Abraham. “Many of these things haven’t been shown in over 30 years. It was a treasure trove.”
With close to 350 works of art spanning six large galleries, “Duro Olowu: Seeing Chicago” is the MCA’s largest art exhibit to date and marks the first time the museum has hired a guest art curator. It is Olowu’s second time curating an exhibit, after overseeing the “Making & Unmaking” show at Camden Arts Centre in 2016 in London.
“The museums here have collections on par with the biggest art capitals of the world. Mixed in with the private collectors — you go into their homes and you can’t imagine, they have the most incredible contemporary art,” says Olowu, whose first retail account was in Chicago, at Ikram, in 2004. “I was glad to bring some of these things back into the museums.”
The exhibit
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