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"Seventeen magazine ran a two-page pullout spread that doubled as an emo “how-to” guide, detailing how girls should wear vintage clothes and hair barrettes; for guys, v-neck sweaters and visible copies of arty books…”

— Andy Greenwald – Nothing Feels Good: Punk Rock, Teenagers, and Emo

"I no longer love your mouth. I no longer love your eyes. I no longer love your eyes. I no longer love the color of your sweaters…"

—Laurie Anderson – “Sweaters”

"I like sweaters. I have a sweater obsession, I guess."

—Drake-

Your grandma’s cardigan; Notorious B.I.G.’s Coogi; your favorite thrift store find; Weezer’s metaphor for lost love; that one that your ex gave you that you can’t seem to throw away; Leslie Hall’s Gem Sweater Museum; the holiday-themed atrocity with jingle bells sewn onto it; Laurie Anderson’s ode to fading love…

These are sweaters we have owned and worn, known and loved.

Why Sweaters? Because sweaters are a mainstay of contemporary life and the pop culture which runs alongside it. Beyond the facts of being a knitted garment, a source of warmth, or a herald of comfort, they are a display of awesomeness. Furthermore: every sweater bears a story.

Above perhaps all other garments, sweaters are most intimately associated with an abundance of feeling, both literal and otherwise. They are also aligned with concepts of intricately knitted pattern as well as holiday festivity, two cultural aspects which have led to the mainstreaming (and widespread commercial production) of “ugly sweaters.”

SWEATERS I HAVE KNOWN AND LOVED addresses these issues in an exhibition of sweaters from various artists’ personal collections, along with their stories.

The sweaters are displayed for their merit as standalone art objects, a glimpse into the artists’ lived experiences via fashion choices and/or sentimental orientation. SWEATERS I HAVE KNOWN AND LOVED explores how the artist’s sweater is art, by way of both aesthetic and/or sentimental value.

displaying works from the personal collections of:

alyssa taylor wendt

marlee mendelson

amanda vaughan

jules buck jones

laurel barickman

lauren klotzman

drew liverman

daniel hipolito

wayne coyne

nate ellefson

tina sparkles

ethan brown

noel kalmus

kayla rakes

xochi solis

thor harris

ben aqua

ej rosen

yamin li"