Marx has been a major point of orientation as I strive to conceptualise the world around me through the lens of his historical materialism and his ethics. I make these artworks not only out of my inherently ludic nature, but also because of my unceasing belief in the fundamental democratic assumption that all people should be treated as equals.
– Rainer Ganahl
COMME des MARXISTS is a fashion house created by New York based Austrian / American artist Rainer Ganahl, who’s haute et basse couture collections (including Karl Marx Wears Prada; Lottery Economics; Marx 4 Kids; Karl Marx Speaks Chinese; Hermes Marx; Marx 99 cents; and Karl Marx visits David Zwirner on 20th Street) playfully reflect on the inequalities and contradictions of both the fashion industry and our contemporary world. COMME des MARXISTS zooms in on the precarious conditions associated with fashion production, our surveillance society, as well as the notion of art as a prestigious, non-suspicious blue-chip token for ultra-high-end consumption and investment.
Coinciding with Ganahl’s first exhibition in London – Comme des Marxists at Fashion Space Gallery, London College of Fashion UAL – Kunstraum will host a high-energy mashup of fashion show and performance night, mixing video of Ganahl’s 2013 New York White Columns show with live streaming video of the event itself. Garments from the exhibition with new works added will be modelled by a variety of people including art world professionals.
We would like to thank all the models who participated : Jacqueline Ramnarine, Virginia Valentini, Antoine Simon, Yidan Zhang, Jadie Caldwell, Amalie Marinas, Mariyam Khatri, Sushma P., Lisa Penny, Julia Sasaki Hernanz, Lucy Cowling, Tyler Eash, and Camille Bréchignac.
Comme des Marxists continues at Fashion Space Gallery until 12 January 2019