In the last decade or so, the term "curated by" has become overused, with all kinds of people claiming to "curate" everything from music playlists to film festivals and art exhibitions. Seeking to appeal to younger, affluent collectors, but as a reaction to the casual curator, Sotheby's launched its Contemporary Curated auctions, featuring works selected by creative minds from a variety of fields with a genuine passion for art. While in 2017 Sotheby's turned to dancer and choreographer Michael Clark, in the following years the auction house frequently enlisted fashion designers as guest curators, among them Roksanda Ilincic, Esteban Cortázar, Margherita Missoni, Anya Hindmarch, Coperni, Erdem, and, more recently, Thom Browne.
In 2020, Sotheby's tapped Kim Jones, creative director of Dior Homme and Fendi womenswear, for a "Contemporary Curated" sale in New York that featured items such as a 1938 Alexander Calder brooch and Nick Cave's Hustle Coat (2017). At the time, Sotheby's chose Jones not for Dior's own past as a gallerist, but for his frequent artist collaborations and his own diverse collection, spanning pre-war paintings, first-edition books, and archival fashions by Vivienne Westwood and Leigh Bowery. Jones is also drawn to pieces by the Bloomsbury Group, which he feels add warmth to his West London home, designed by Gianni Botsford Architects, a striking structure made of solid concrete, steel, aluminum, and glass.
It is this interest in the Bloomsbury Group that has prompted Sotheby's to choose him again as guest curator for their "Radical Modernity: From Bloomsbury to Charleston" event (9 - 26 November 2024), part of the auction house's Modern British & Irish Art Week. This auction, accompanied by an exhibition, will showcase the finest art and literature by the Bloomsbury Group, featuring works for sale alongside loans from Charleston in Sussex - the home of Vanessa Bell (Virginia Woolf’s sister) and Duncan Grant, and the spiritual heart of the Bloomsbury Group.
The Bloomsbury Group, an influential collective of writers, intellectuals, artists, and thinkers, emerged in the early 20th century in London's Bloomsbury district. Known for their groundbreaking contributions to modern literature, art, and philosophy, they defied the rigid social norms of Victorian society. Their emphasis on emotional and intellectual freedom fostered some of the most innovative work of the time. They were also advocates for pacifism, socialism, and feminism.
"Radical Modernity", in collaboration with Charleston, will celebrate the enduring legacy of the Bloomsbury Group and the resurgence of interest in their work today. The exhibition and auction will feature paintings, drawings, furniture, ceramics, and literature by figures such as Vanessa Bell, Duncan Grant, Roger Fry, Virginia Woolf, and Henry Lamb.
Charleston will be lending some of its most significant pieces, many rarely seen by the public, including recent acquisitions from the "‘50 for 50" campaign. This initiative seeks to uncover the finest Bloomsbury works still held in private collections, in anticipation of Charleston's 50th anniversary as a charity in 2030.
"The Bloomsbury group were a reaction against Victorian Britain, and I love the way they shook things up – changing the way people dress and think (like the Beats or the Punks)," Jones states in a press release about the event.
Jones has long drawn inspiration from the Bloomsbury Group's paintings, colors, patterns, and writings, visiting Charleston for the first time in his life during a school trip. Since 2018, he has collaborated with the Charleston team, helping acquire items for the house, including a fire screen that was once in John Maynard Keynes' bedroom. He organized there a Vogue shoot with Kate Moss to celebrate his first Fendi womenswear collection and Charleston's post-pandemic reopening. In 2023, he transformed 12 drawings from Charleston's archive into Dior's summer menswear collection, unveiled before a replica of the house at Paris Fashion Week. For the 2024 Charleston Festival, he designed costumes for "The Afternoon of a Faun", performed by Reece Clarke and choreographed by Russell Maliphant. This year, Jones was also appointed Vice President of Charleston, a position he shares with Sigrid Rausing, publisher of Granta Magazine and Granta Books.
For the Sotheby's event, Jones will select the pieces and loan artworks from his personal collection. Works on loan from The Charleston Trust will include instead Duncan Grant's Self Portrait (1909), reflecting the influence of his early years in India, and his 1917 portrait of economist John Maynard Keynes, who had a room at Charleston for weekend stays. Keynes is depicted in Charleston's walled garden, deeply immersed in writing and wearing an Omega Workshops cap. There are also items painted by Grant, such as a log box from 1917, adorned with angelic musicians or dancers and blending Renaissance influences with Ballets Russes inspirations.
Other highlights include Vanessa Bell's 1923 portrait of Lady Jane Strachey, Grant's aunt, who began campaigning for women's suffrage in the late 1860s, a domestic scene of Charleston's kitchen, and a painting of a hotel garden in Florence (1909).
Who knows, maybe we will see the palette of these paintings echoed in some future collections by Kim Jones, but fashion designers might find greater inspiration in the works for sale, such as Bell's painting originally titled "The Party", which evokes the liberal spirit of 1920s Bloomsbury and was gifted to her sister, Virginia Woolf.
Painted in 1920, the work was exhibited in London two years later and reviewed by British Vogue as "a charmingly inimical vision of the social amenities that is also a very striking composition." The painting was then sold from Virginia Woolf’s estate to playwright Howard Ginsberg. Reemerging in 1983, it became known as "Mrs Dalloway's Party", echoing Woolf's most famous novel, "Mrs Dalloway". Originally titled "The Party", the novel was published in 1925 with cover art by Bell.
The sisters often drew inspiration from each other, and this painting may have played a role in the evolution of Woolf's story, possibly even inspiring the party scene that closes the novel. This link between the painting and novel intrigued also Ginsberg, inspiring him to write a two-act play based on it. The idea of intertwining a painting and novel offers a fascinating exercise for fashion designers (fashion design students in a creative rut try this exercise and explore how these two art forms can be woven together and inspire you a collection – can you think about a novel and a painting that you can combine in a series of garments or accessories in a clever way?).
For interior designers, other highlights from "Radical Modernity" include ceramics from the Omega Workshops. Founded by Roger Fry in 1913, the Omega Workshops produced fabrics, furniture, and ceramics designed by Fry, Vanessa Bell, and Duncan Grant. The pottery was made anonymously and stamped only with the Greek letter Ω (Omega).
The Omega Workshops aimed to blur the lines between "high" and "low" art by elevating everyday functional objects, such as pots and bowls, through a playful and experimental approach (this concept is another valuable lesson for students – producing functional pieces with minimalist designs that merge art with daily life).
The artists produced for the Omega Workshops furniture, ceramics, textiles, murals, and even entire interiors. Textiles played a central role, with collections that included printed and woven fabrics, as well as hand-painted silk scarves. Omega textiles were known for their freedom and bold, linear or geometric patterns. Though the workshop closed in 1919, after being affected by the war, its influence endures. An example included in the auction is a silk robe by Percy Wyndham Lewis, probably designed between 1913 and 1914. Block-printed and embroidered, it is part of a recently discovered small group of textiles by Lewis, who is more widely known for his candle shade designs, folding screens, and painted ceramics.
While not everyone can afford to purchase such pieces, the exhibition will be free, offering visitors the chance to wander and make their discoveries. As Jones states in a press release about the items he will lend, "I love living with these amazing pieces in my home, but I think it's important to give other people the opportunity to come face to face with them, so they can experience that same moment I have, when something from so long ago speaks to something within you."
Comments
You can follow this conversation by subscribing to the comment feed for this post.