After earning a degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, he completed a Master’s degree in Architecture at the Illinois Institute of Technology.
It was here at the Illinois Institute of Technology, where he was introduced to a curriculum, originally established by Mies van der Rohe. A curriculum which was formed from the notions of Bauhaus, that enabled Virgil Abloh to learn how to converge the fields of arts, craft, and design.
Those notions merged with contemporary culture make up his inter-disciplinary practice today; stemming from his last 15 years, which is summarized below.
Virgil Abloh™
Virgil Abloh™
Virgil Abloh™
Virgil Abloh™
Virgil Abloh™
Virgil Abloh™
Virgil Abloh™
Virgil Abloh™
Virgil Abloh™
Virgil Abloh™
Virgil Abloh™
Virgil Abloh™
Virgil Abloh™
Virgil Abloh™
Virgil Abloh™
Virgil Abloh™
Virgil Abloh™
Virgil Abloh™
Click here to download the PDF
SHOWNOTE #1
SHOWNOTE #2
SHOWNOTE #3
SHOWNOTE #4
SHOWNOTE #5
SHOWNOTE #6
SHOWNOTE #7
SHOWNOTE #6A
Art, Fashion, and Brandings Contribution to Society in a Post-Covid 19 Environment.
后疫情时代艺术、时尚和品牌对社会的贡献
Virgil Abloh 维吉尔·阿布洛
November 23, 2020
20:00-20:05 Host, Marco Chan
20:05-20:20 Welcome Speech, Dean of School of Design
20:20-20:30 Video
20:30-22:30 Virgil Lecture
22:30-23:00 Q&A
Our next session is a distinguished mentoring opportunity featuring Mr. Virgil Abloh, a Ghanaian-American creative, architect, engineer, and fashion designer. He is the artistic director of Louis Vuitton and the CEO of the Milan-based label Off-White. In addition to running major fashion brands and consulting, he DJs under the alias Flat-White.
Earlier this year, he unveiled his collaboration with Mercedes Benz, reimagining the company’s G-Class as a streamlined racing car. His artwork has also been the subject of an exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago, USA. In the near future, his Ikea collaboration will be released through the brand’s international stores.
Mr. Abloh is passionate about advancing pathways in art and design for young black designers and those from non-traditional backgrounds. His long-standing initiatives support individuals on the road to ownership of their ideas and brands.
Recently, Mr. Abloh has launched an organic platform for widespread access to information and mentorship through his Post Modern Initiative with the aim of the betterment of all- access knowledge.
This event will feature a moderated discussion by Mr. Emmanuel Addo, Old Achimotan, 2002 followed by a Q&A session.
The immediate and improvised nature of the COVID shutdown in the spring of 2020 did not only bring to light systemic justice problems, but created new ones too. One such is the accelerated digitization of the judicial system. This session of the New Spaces of Justice workshop addresses real-time challenges faced by the courts and its users and rethink analog and virtual court infrastructures, buildings, symbols and artifacts through a human-centered lens.
Part 1 The Case for Law, Architecture & Paradisciplinary Design
Part 2 Five Case Studies
Part 3 Virgil Abloh in conversation with Clemens A. Landau, the presiding judge of Utah’s Salt Lake City Justice Court
New Spaces of Justice multidisciplinary workshop between Nóra Al Haider (the Legal Design Lab at Stanford University), Oana Stănescu (OS Studio) and Virgil Abloh.
MAKING THE ORDINARY EXTRAORDINARY “OFFICE SUPPLIES” C/O VIRGIL ABLOH & JACOB & CO.
The new “Office Supplies” collection brings together the visionary talents of Jacob Arabo, founder of Jacob & Co., and Virgil Abloh.
Deciding to reimagine the paperclip highlights the subtle significance of an everyday item and transforms it into a contemporary piece of fine jewelry.
A simple yet modern representation of nostalgia, the paperclip is reminiscent of youthful creations when paperclips became chains, bracelets, and more. Through the “Office Supplies” collection, Mr. Arabo and Mr. Abloh transform simplicity into luxury by reinterpreting a universal past time through high craftsmanship and exceptional materials such as white and yellow diamonds.
Televised Radio Network presents “Jazz Hours”
Saturday, April 11th, 2020
10am New York / 3pm London / 4pm Paris / 11pm Tokyo
Listen live via: https://www.instagram.com/virgilabloh
Efflorescence: the collection’s name seems paradoxical for what appears at first to be solid blocks of reality to sit, gather, and look at oneself. Beyond the sharp fact that it is always fruitful to deal with paradoxes, this botanical term reflects the production method of the pieces. Like these wildflowers that fit into the interstices and corners of urban space, the holes, formal accidents, and graffiti that cover and personalize— in different ways each time—the concrete surface offers a visual and emotional texture to recharge our immediate environment: a landscape where the rigidity of structures and urban planning meets the randomness of organic growth and human appropriation and mark-making.
In collaboration with Virgil Abloh, IKEA presents MARKERAD, a collection of contemporary items designed to make a statement in your first home. The limited-edition collection consisting of 15 products.
MARKERAD takes classic minimalist designs and builds on them with the artistic references and disruptive elements typical of the multi-disciplinary creative Virgil Abloh’ s work. His iconic quotation marks can be found throughout the collection and are used to add a sense of irony and inject humor into the home.
“I´m really glad that MARKERAD is now ready to meet with people and I look forward to see how these everyday objects will enter people’s homes and hopefully add an emotional value to them. Because that has been the ethos of the whole collection. In the same way you might hang a piece of art work on your wall, art can bleed into objects like a chair, table or rug. That was my initial problem to solve when creating this collection together with IKEA”, says Virgil Abloh.
The journey of MARKERAD began in 2017, when IKEA and Virgil Abloh started to explore what makes a first home and what kind of designs will satisfy the practical needs and emotional aspirations when you want to make a statement in your home. This also meant working across aesthetic borders and elaborating on what happens when contemporary art culture and street art culture meet IKEA product design.
The MARKERAD collection is a mix of items that are basic needs when creating a first home. There is furniture like a table, a chair and a daybed as well as smaller items such as a toolbox, clock and textiles. Many of the products have multi-functions built into them like the daybed which serves as a platform for sleeping, working, eating and socializing.
The official catalog for Virgil Abloh’s retrospective at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago. This catalog covers the last fifteen years of Virgil Abloh’s career, including an in-depth analysis of his work and inspiration.
Hardcover. Linen. 496 pages.
9.25in x 12.25in (23.5cm x 31.1cm)
Weight: 5.1 lbs (2.3 kg)
Published in 2019 by DelMonico Books • Prestel
ISBN: 978-3-7913-5857-4
The official catalog for Virgil Abloh’s retrospective at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago. This catalog covers the last fifteen years of Virgil Abloh’s career, including an in-depth analysis of his work and inspiration.
This special edition comes in a cloth slipcase with “”Personal Copy”” silkscreened on the book fore edge. It also features a measuring tape ribbon marker as well as a flexi disc printed with a Juergen Teller photo that includes a recording of Virgil Abloh discussing his inspirations.
Hardcover. Linen. 496 pages
12.75in x 9.5in (32.4cm x 24.1cm)
Weight: 6.5 lbs (2.95 kg)
Published in 2019 by DelMonico Books • Prestel
ISBN: 978-3-7913-5900-7
ends with Coachella ©2019. mini-documentary c/o @bonesoda via @skinnymacho 8 mins long on IGTV YouTube etc ~ editors note: black box = insert yourself here.
This collectible flip book “lookbook” features Virgil Abloh’s designs from his 2013 video showcasing his original brand, Pyrex Vision.
Paperback. Flexi-cover. 124 pages.
6in x 7in x 0.5in (15.25cm x 17.75cm x 1.25cm)
Weight: 1.0 lbs (0.45 kg)
Published in 2019 by DelMonico Books • Prestel
ISBN: 978-3-7913-5899-4
EXHIBITION REVIEW
Can Virgil Abloh Fit in a Museum?
“Figures of Speech” in Chicago tries to capture the essence of a prodigious fashion designer. It’s an endeavor with radical juxtapositions, clever products and some missed opportunities.
By Jon Caramanica
PDF: THE NEW YORK TIMES – 23, AUGUST 2019 (C11-C-12)
Lecture in Chicago with Hamza Walker for 3rd year Master of Fine Arts course at the Art Institute Chicago. Topics centered around the mode of art production irrelevant to final space.
Drawing lines from Detroit Techno to Miles Davis and Travis Scott, while using my exhibition titled “Figures of Speech” as the backdrop for the discussion.
PART 1:
PART 2:
PART 3:
In large part, “Figures of Speech” is an art exhibition rooted in advertising and “the projected image”.
Anytime an idea hits a particular surface; a photo print, a screen, a billboard or canvas, it seems like fact. This exhibition demonstrates myself wrestling with this concept within the freedom of mediums while finding personal solutions.
This 15-year study is looking for a way to transform from consumer to producer. This is an intersection where the tourists and purists cross paths. The atmosphere is literal and figurative.
-Virgil Abloh
various exhibition views series ~ exhibition book and catalog link in bio.
“Figures of Speech” @mcachicago.
open to the public June 10th ©2019
Creative polymath Virgil Abloh on flexing his design muscle, and furniture against climate change
PHOTOGRAPHY: MARVIN LEUVREY
WRITER: ALICE RAWSTHORN
Read the article on wallpaper.com
Tracklist
Tiga & The Martinez Brothers – Blessed (Virgil Abloh FutureJazz Remix) [Turbo]
Boys Noize & Virgil Abloh – Orvnge [Boysnoize Records]
Virgil Abloh Feat Serpent With Feet – Delicate Limbs [White Label]
The Roots – Push Up Ya Lighter [Geffen Records]
The Roots – Clones (Instrumental) [DGC]
Octavian – Party Here [White Label]
Dizzee Rascal – Seems 2 Be [XL Recordings]
Mura Masa – Wave [Anchor Point]
Kanye West – Say You Will [Roc-A-Fella Records]
Matty – Verocai [Matty Unlimited]
Virgil Abloh – Blush [White Label]
.
\\Virgil Abloh Mix//
Peter Seville Interview ShowStudio excerpt with Lou Stoppard
BadBadNotGood “Untitled” recorded live in Paris France opening song of Virgil Abloh Louis Vuitton show 2018
Peven Everett – Feelin You In And Out (Shelter Mix) [Symple Soul]
Tiga & The Martinez Brothers – Blessed (Virgil Abloh FutureJazz Remix) [White Label]
Mafia Boyz – Bhengi Yokhalpiha [White Label]
Colta x Patrick Brian – Grunt [Terrorhythm Recordings]
Tin Man – Viscocity Acid [Global A]
Frankie Knuckles – Baby Wants to Ride [D.J. International Records]
.
\\Dondi White Interview//
K. Frimpong & His Cubano Fiestas – Adam Nana”Extract of David Shrigley interview “Advice to the Young [White Label]
Gesaffelstein – A Pledge [Parlophone France]
James Blake – Love Me In Whatever Way [Polydor]
Virgil Abloh – Blush [White Label]
Extract of JOHN BERGER “WAYS OF SEEING” episode 1 (BBC4, 1972)
Jazzanova – Hanazono [Jazzanova Compost Records]
BadBadNotGood “IV” recorded live in Paris, France – closing song of Virgil Abloh Louis Vuitton show 2018
Virgil Abloh featuring Serpent With Feet – Delicate Limbs [White Label]
The absence of nature in our cities can be seen as a reflection of the disconnection we are experiencing with our bodies. How can we reconnect with ourselves through art, design and architecture? How can art re-program our current self-perceptions?
Panelists: Virgil Abloh, Grace Wales Bonner, Torkwase Dyson, Arthur Jafa, Francis Kéré, Hans Ulrich Obrist (Moderator). Presented as part of Therme Forum at Design Miami/ 2018.
