Akris SS19 inside the exhibition ‘Geta Brătescu. The Power of the Line’, Hauser & Wirth London © The Estate of Geta Brătescu. Courtesy Akris
Akris collaboration with Geta Brătescu
The Spring/Summer 2019 collection by Swiss fashion house Akris is a unique collaboration between Akris creative director Albert Kriemler, Romanian artist Geta Brătescu and Marian Ivan of Ivan Gallery. Albert Kriemler discovered the artist’s work at documenta in Athens and Kassel, and was inspired by her bold use of color, line, and relationship to paper. Kriemler remarked how ‘Geta’s feeling for selecting paper is very similar to how I select fabric. Fabric teaches me so much, and, like paper, it’s a beautiful material – it has a haptic quality.’
Albert Kriemler has revisited his first encounter with Brătescu’s work, which he discovered in 2017: ‘At documenta 14, two works by Geta took my attention. One was a piece named ‘Linia’, made up of five collages, with a striking pink collage on a piece of card and some black lines, and I immediately thought, ‘I want to meet the artist.’’
Silk crêpe jacket and jumpsuit and Little Ai messenger bag inspired by Geta Brătescu’s ‘Portrait’ (2011) inside the exhibition ‘Geta Brătescu. The Power of the Line’, Hauser & Wirth London © The Estate of Geta Brătescu. Courtesy Akris
Geta Brătescu, Portrait, 2011 © The Estate of Geta Brătescu
‘At her studio I saw her draw, use scissors and make collages. It was interesting to see the ways we have a common ground, creatively.’
From left to right: Peter Kriemler, Albert Kriemler, Marian Ivan, Manuela Wirth and Ursula Hauser (both wearing Akris SS19), and Alma Wirth at Hauser & Wirth London
Akris SS19, inside the exhibition ‘Geta Brătescu. The Power of the Line’, Hauser & Wirth London © The Estate of Geta Brătescu. Courtesy Akris
‘When I went to her studio for a second visit, I had already shown a lot of sketches, drawings and fabrics to Geta. I had already made scarves, and printed fabrics, and Geta was happy. She told me that I should work on her ‘Magnets in the City’ (1974) photomontage. And you know, I took that as a mission – that idea became central to the collection.’
Akris Spring/Summer 2019, including a print of Geta Brătescu’s ‘Magnets in the City’ (1974) © The Estate of Geta Brătescu. Courtesy Akris
Geta Brătescu, Magnetii in Oras (Magnets in the City), 1974 © The Estate of Geta Brătescu
‘Geta’s sense for color was incredible, she had an eye for material and its potential for experimentation.’
Albert Kriemler has reflected on his subsequent encounters with the artist, recollecting ‘her charming humor’, and how ‘when I saw her in the studio her eyes were full of light and love of life’. He thanked Marian Ivan for supporting the collaboration wholeheartedly as her gallerist in Bucharest. As Kriemler emphasised ‘the most important thing is respect for the artist’s work. That’s why collaboration is such a beautiful process.’ – ‘Geta Brătescu. The Power of the Line’ is on view at Hauser & Wirth London 27 February – 27 April 2019. Discover the collaboration with Brătescu in the Akris Spring/Summer 2019 collection.
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