Hardcore Chastity Couture

Jul 19 2019 - Aug 8 2019

A Solo Exhibition featuring the works of:

 Ira Sherman

Opening Reception:
July 19, 2019
6 p.m. – 10 p.m.

Bitfactory Gallery is thrilled to announce a solo sculpture exhibition by veteran Denver artist Ira Sherman. This current body of work beautifully melds Sherman’s skills as a metalsmith and jeweler with his technical prowess and moral commitments. Sherman’s artistic project is inspired by a desire to create dialogue around the subject of sexual assault, and his ingenious mechanized works enlist humor and opulence to engage viewers with this issue. Sherman’s elegant steel undergarments relate to historical chastity belts worn to guard women’s virtue, which he reinterprets as sophisticated fashion that provides safe and sexy armored protection. The resulting metal couture transforms wearers into tangible and symbolic guardians of their own bodies. While others can look, they can’t touch, unless granted consensual access. Designed for both men and women they generously allow one to be both inviting and invincible. Sherman’s Hardcore Chastity Couture is closely aligned with Alexander McQueen’s bold conceptual fashions, and both artists share a desire to empower the wearer through their adventurous work.

“Sherman’s chastity couture has been riveting audiences on runways and catwalks at fashion shows across the nation. These kinetic, and kinky, wearable sculptures become the ideal costumes for performative art; like a steampunk Victoria’s Secret lingerie show. When encountered in a gallery context, off the semi-nude bodies of models, these elaborate fashion statements are no less provoking or sexually charged. And the absent model makes it easier to imagine oneself wearing these daring fashions, allowing for greater vicarious experience and understanding.” – Suzanne Ramljak, Author & Curator

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