Shoes as Artwork at “Stepping Up for Art”

Shoes as Artwork at “Stepping Up for Art”
Untitled, 2014, Laurie Simmons Charlotte Olympia for Stepping Up For Art. Photographer Liam Goodman
Untitled, 2014, Laurie Simmons Charlotte Olympia for Stepping Up For Art. Photographer Liam Goodman

On display at the Gagosian Gallery, 980 Madison Avenue on May 2nd, 3rd, and 5th, 2014, the “Stepping Up for Art” installation featured unique works of art using a pair of signature Charlotte Olympia canvas Dolly platforms as the inspiration and canvas.

Twenty renowned artists including Jeff Koons, Richard Prince, Ed Ruscha, Cindy Sherman, George Condo, Laurie Simmons, Christo, Tom Sachs, Marilyn Minter, Hugo Guinness, Elliott Puckette, David Levinthal, Maya Lin, Philip Taaffe, Francesco Clemente, Sarah Sze, Maira Kalman, Martin Mull, Charline von Heyl and Kenny Scharf lent their talent to the exhibition.

Children from five schools partnering with Studio in a School including PS 196 Bronx, PS 45 Queens, PS 16 Staten Island, PS 139 Brooklyn and PS 75 Manhattan have also designed extraordinary artworks on Dolly shoes donated by Charlotte Olympia were also on view.

“Shoes were never like this!” exclaimed Larry Gagosian of the Gagosian Gallery. “It’s great to see the artists of today stepping up to support the artists of tomorrow at Studio in a School.”

To make the exhibition into a reality, Charlotte Olympia has donated shoes so that classes participating in Studio programs, one in each borough, could share in and enjoy the creative process that the professional artists experienced.