From Milan to Venice, fashion brands at home at Art Biennale

Bottega Veneta, Louis Vuitton and Diesel were only some of the brands supporting the international art event officially kicking off Saturday and running until Nov. 27.

Diesel paired with the Tom of Finland Foundation and Paris-based art collective The Community to present two concurrent exhibitions AllTogether in Venice and Paris, bringing together a selection of the world’s most extensive collection of LGBTQ art for the first time outside of Los Angeles.

TOM OF FINLAND Untitled, c. 1966 – 1990

“Tom opened doors to so many people: He was the first internationally known erotic gay artist, and created a platform that helped me understand myself in my process of acceptance as there was no gay community growing up in Bruges,” said Diesel creative director Glenn Martens. “He contributed to this sense of living life in full happiness, which is reflected in these works, as artists know they no longer have to hide, but let’s not forget that our community does not live in peace everywhere. There is still persecution in many places. The Biennale is one of the best platforms and will help to raise awareness.”

The designer also gave a shout-out to Diesel, which has long spoken up about social issues and the environment: “one of the reasons I accepted this job,” said Martens. “We have a responsibility as a global brand to give back, people are watching and we work to speed up this process of acceptance.”

Diesel will also launch a dedicated capsule collection on May 8, Tom of Finland’s birthday.

The foundation’s president and cofounder Durk Dehner touted the “amazing exposure” of the Biennale and Diesel’s capsule, “another exciting avenue” to promote the imagery of the artists. “Tom’s legacy lives on and continues to inspire to stay true to yourself and not be inhibited. He represents freedom for all of us. Many erotic artists of the time — some working anonymously throughout their career — were concerned that their work would be forgotten or destroyed after their deaths. Thus, they donated their life’s work to the foundation, knowing it would be carefully archived and their stories preserved.”

The exhibition at The Community Centre in Paris will bow on May 8 and the two shows, which both run until June 26, comprise more than 200 works of art from the 1940s to the present day.

READ THE COMPLETE ARTICLE BY LUISA ZARGANI

Published: 6th May 2022

Categorised in: Events, News