The Austrian Cultural Forum New York (ACFNY) is delighted to present “Inspiration Comes from Everyday Life: Elfie Semotan and Nina Hollein,” an exhibition that delves into the captivating convergence of fashion, photography, art, and architecture. Featuring a comprehensive array of photographs by Elfie Semotan alongside distinctive garments designed by Nina Hollein, the exhibition will be on display from May 15 to September 25, 2024.
The Austrian artist Elfie Semotan (born 1941) is widely considered one of the leading fashion photographers. In the course of several decades, she has worked for many of the most prestigious fashion magazines and designers worldwide. Originally a successful fashion model in Paris, she already transitioned behind the camera in the late 1960s.
Nina Hollein (born 1971), is a fashion designer from Austria, who for the past fifteen years has created unique, complex designs for women with a focus on adaptability and sustainability. She initially pursued studies in architecture at the Vienna University of Technology and worked in the New York architectural firms of Peter Eisenman and Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects in the early 2000s, before turning to fashion.
While Semotan lived and worked in New York for many years, Hollein has called New York her home since 2016.
The exhibition “Inspiration Comes from Everyday Life: Elfie Semotan and Nina Hollein” presents two artists who, despite their diverse approaches and mediums, share a profound appreciation for fashion as an art form, the individuals and individuality it celebrates, notions of timeless beauty, as well as forms that transcend the ordinary.
Elfie Semotan‘s precise timing, unconventional perspective, and intuitive eye for the decisive moment, combined with her creative use of light and fascinating angles, make her a prominent figure in the world of photography. It is through her attentive and sensitive observation of people and their personalities, as well as of the everyday and its frequently overlooked elements, that she discovers (or uncovers) her visual motifs. She frequently captures the coincidental, turning these moments into captivating compositions that succeed in blurring the line between art and fashion photography. The exhibition at the Austrian Cultural Forum New York offers a comprehensive overview of the oeuvre of this Grande Dame of Austrian photography.
Nina Hollein‘s fashion skillfully navigates between sculpture and garment, as well as between space, material, and body. The range of her creations extends from dresses and skirts to elegant coats, capes, and evening gowns. She draws inspiration from everyday objects, patterns, colors, and shapes. Her nuanced exploration of cut, form, material, light, and color reflects her background as an architect. For Hollein, textile art transcends conventional boundaries to incorporate spatial configurations and interventions. Clothing thus becomes an extended, often delicately lightweight shelter, acting as a bridge between the human body and architecture. Each design by Nina Hollein is unique and made by hand, emphasizing its individual value.
Whether viewed individually or in dialogue, Elfie Semotan’s photographs and Nina Hollein’s fashion immediately captivate us. They are imbued with a passion for people, objects, as well as notions of presence and transience. They do not represent the visible, they make visible.