Our team loves to discover innovative and inspiring collections that are in close proximity with contemporary art, especially those that tells meaningful and captivating narratives. August 23rd to 25th marked the official preview of COS’ capsule collection with Agnes Martin in Hong Kong. This was launched in accordance to a retrospective exhibition dedicated to the American abstract painter Agnes Martin, which is set to be held at the New York Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum from October 2016 to January 2017. Our team was cordially invited to the preview of the capsule collection and was fascinated by the story and the inspiration behind their creative process.
Agnes Martin, a distinguished painter of the twentieth century, has created hushed but powerful pieces that are often described by other as ‘prayers’. The design team at COS was stirred by Martin’s way of creating conceptual artistry which touches on themes including innocence, happiness, and beauty. They strive to incorporate her signature geometric visual vocabulary, delicate mark-making, and minimalist grids into weaving a tributary collection. They also took note of Martin’s strong belief in the free being and the need for an open mind. She believed that absolute freedom can only be attained by dampening pride, ego, and fear. Her transition from geometric grids to horizontal and vertical lines, bands, and strips of subtle palettes, results in an irreplaceable aura in her works, which makes replication almost impossible.
Martin draws from her childhood which was spent at a Saskatchewan farm. She lived under her mother’s ruthless utilization of using silence as an emotional weapon, which has caused her to channel her personal pursuit of purity (what she deems as an ultimate image of reality) into her works. Her mother’s authoritative position has prompted discipline, self-reliance, and renunciation as some of her core values in life, and it is reflected in the orderly form and visual bounds within her artistry. The quality of possessing such a unique vicinity with one’s personal emotions and past memories is what has drawn the world’s eyes to her narrative of combat and acceptance.
The COS x Agnes Martin capsule collection is responsive towards every aspect of the late Martin’s masterpieces – from the delicacy and simplicity of the lines to the supple fabrics and serene color palettes. For example, Systemic Painting, which was featured at Martin’s 1966 exhibition at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York, is a piece that we find ourselves revisiting fifty years later, as we celebrate her austere manifestations of grids that differentiate her from her other counterparts of intellectualism and minimalist art. The infinite sense of space that Martin has created in her works presents the idea of the transcendental quality of the mind – the nonstop loop of egoism that can be abolished within mathematical and uniform dimensions. In a strange sense, the COS capsule collection does not merely pay homage to the physical qualities of Martin’s works, such as the renowned On A Clear Day and Untitled #4, but it also presents a lingering ambiance of detachment and elegance. When pieced into one collective entity on the rack, the garments illicit an empowering and evocative energy of non-compliance to conventions, both artistically and spiritually.
In light of the upcoming retrospective exhibition at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, COS has shown its full support officially through the curation of the exhibition, as well as the launch of this beautiful collection. Featured artworks include Little Sister (1962), Untitled #5 (1998), among others. The capsule collection will also be available for purchase worldwide on October 7th, in conjunction with the opening of the exhibition. Part of the proceeds will be donated towards the Agnes Martin Foundation.