Artist Keith Edmier pays tribute to the iconic Grace Kelly and her namesake Hermès bag
The concept of artist Keith Edmier’s New York solo exhibition (on display until June 20th) began with a simple mission: he was interested in the correlation between ancient myths in contemporary culture as well as the synergy between blending keepsakes that are born through the marriage of art and fashion. “I became interested in linking Greek and Roman myths and tales to real people in the 20th Century and in doing so, there were a multitude of relationships that lead me to Grace Kelly,” he says.
“The one thing that I was most interested in was the god Hermes – which drove me to the fashion house responsible for its fame. The minute you type ‘Hermes’ into Google, the Birkin Bag appears…and from there, I found the Kelly Bag, which beforehand, I knew absolutely nothing about,” he said. “Very quickly I became aware of the story behind the Kelly Bag and the myth that she used the bag to shield her growing pregnant belly from the paparazzi. I liked this idea of mythology and blending real people and falsified stories”.
The concept of ‘birthing’ has been seen in his previous works, but there’s something unique about the Kelly Bag that provided a sense of creative exploration for the artist – which also happened to involve multiple hours exploring online. “I liked how the bag provided a sort of vessel; a reliquary of sorts. The show contains many reliquaries for real things – these frozen moments in time. I wanted to make a Kelly Bag in glass, but first I had to buy one. Though there was no shortage of time spent analyzing various bags, shapes, sizes, leathers, skins, hardware and leather types, the one the artist bought (which in turn was recreated for his show in transparent glass), was a smooth and supple black Kelly Bag that’s “the largest size possible and dates back to no earlier than the 90’s” says the artist.
Keith Edmier, The Kelly Bag (Salmacis), 2015. Glass, dental acrylic, polyurethane, acrylic paint, and silk on limestone base. 11.5 x 19 x 12 inches, 29.2 x 48.3 x 30.5 cm.
Photo: Keith Edgier and Petzel, New York. Editorial: Christies.com