There's been a European invasion of sorts in the CWE in connection with the opening of the World Chess Hall Of Fame's exhibition, The Queen Within: Adorned Archetypes, Fashion & Chess. A related exhibition of The Queen Within, photographs of the late British designer and artist Alexander McQueen taken by Parisian photographer Anne Deniau opened at the Philip Slein Gallery last Wednesday. It's the first time Deniau's photographs of McQueen's creations have been shown in the U. S.
Anne Deniau (pictured above with gallery owner Philip Slein) was a close friend and confidant of Alexander McQueen's and the only photographer to have unfettered access backstage and to the runway shows. The designer's seasonal collections were staged as performance art, as evidenced by the photographs above. Four hundred of Deniau's photographs are compiled in Love Looks Not with the Eyes. The book's title is taken from Shakespeare's A Midsummer's Night's Dream: "Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind." The words were also tattooed on McQueen's arm.
Gallery openings are enlightening, entertaining and a fabulous vantage point for
people-watching. Against the backdrop of Deniau's gorgeous photography, the evening at Philip Slein's provided more glitter and glam than usual.
Bright-orange gift bags provided by the magazine Sophisticated Living (St. Louis' Finest) were distributed to gallery-goers by one of the magazine's interns. CWEnder Craig Kaminer is publisher of Sophisticated Living.
I highly recommend that you visit Philip Slein Gallery to experience Deniau's With the Mind before viewing The Queen Within (reservations online here) at the World Chess Hall of Fame. Both exhibitions are quite a coup for the neighborhood.
I'll be posting photos of WCHOF's "words-cannot-describe" exhibition in the next couple of days.
With the Mind, Tues. – Sat. 10 to 5 (or by appointment), until November 27th, Philip Slein Gallery, 4735 McPherson.