Alexander McQueen exhibition to open at Frist Art Museum

Nashville's Frist Art Museum will open an exhibition celebrating the artistic union between the late British fashion designer Alexander McQueen and French photographer Ann Ray.

The exhibition, called 'Lee Alexander McQueen & Ann Ray: Rendez-Vous', promises an intimate exploration of McQueen's creativity and Ray's unique perspective through a variety of clothing and photographs.

Scheduled to be on display from May 30 to August 25, 2024, at Frist's Ingram Gallery, this exhibition, organized by Barrett Barrera Projects, celebrates the collaboration that flourished between McQueen and Ray over 13 years.

Visitors to Rendez-Vous will have the opportunity to delve into the inner sanctum of McQueen's creative process, thanks to Ray's access to his world. Ray's lens captured the essence of McQueen's genius, from the moments of inspiration in his design studio to the energy backstage at his runway shows. There will be a total of 65 photographs personally selected by Ray on display.

Beyond the photographs, the exhibition features 60 clothing objects, ranging from ready-to-wear garments to haute couture creations, spanning McQueen's entire career. Among them are ten pieces of clothing that McQueen gave to Ray, along with thirteen exclusive pieces from Barrett Barrera Projects, the largest private collection of McQueen's works in the world.

The exhibition is structured into five sections of McQueen clothing combined with 12 thematic sections of photographs selected and organized by Ray, tracing McQueen's remarkable journey, from his early days at Givenchy through his iconic collections and final years.

“While there have been other exhibitions of McQueen's work, including the record-breaking Savage Beauty project at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York in 2011, a year after his death, the unprecedented inclusion of Ray's photographs creates a rendezvous where new and perhaps more truthful narratives emerge,” said Frist Art Museum senior curator Katie Delmez.