Double honours for Patterson in Miami

Each December, art fairs pop up in Miami, Florida, for a week. Art Basel, a contemporary fair which invites celebrities from all over the world, is the most popular - and this year Jamaican fine artist Ebony G. Patterson was the premier fair's shining star. She was named the honoree of two Art Basel events. Crowd-funding company Kickstarter hosted a dinner in her honour. Patterson was also honoured at a supper party hosted by women's shoe designer Christian Louboutin, creator of the famous red-bottom shoes, and music producer and entrepreneur Swizz Beatz.

"Kickstarter was instrumental in realising a large public project I did earlier this year for Open Spaces Kansas City, a site-specific installation in Swope Park titled 'Called Up'. The dinner was a celebration of our collaboration and a beautiful evening filled with friends and supporters," Patterson told The Gleaner. From July to August, Patterson secured US$18,070 (with a goal of US$15,000) from 106 backers to help bring the project to life.

Hosted by Christian Louboutin and Swizz Beats, the supper party celebrated her first solo exhibition called '...while the dew is still on the roses...' at Perez Art Museum Miami, which was supported in part by Louboutin. In a quote from Vogue magazine, the famous shoe designer said: "[Ebony's] work manages to combine two very disparate things - beauty and violence - to deliver a powerful message." Louboutin decided to underwrite the exhibition after discovering Patterson via Swizz Beatz.

EXCITING ENGAGEMENT

"Swizz has been a big supporter of my work in the past, but the Louboutin connection is a new and exciting engagement arising out of Louboutin's support of arts and culture," Patterson said. She was recently commissioned to create a tapestry for the window of Louboutin's store in Miami Beach.

Vogue writer Chioma Nnadi describes Patterson's solo exhibition as "an opulent garden made up of flowers, glitter, lace, and beads. But up close, you'll find shoes, hats, and handbags hidden among the grass, along with disembodied shirts and pants. Who owned these shoes? And what happened to them?"

Patterson explained: "It's not just shoes; it's about the bodies that occupy them. There's something creepy about them. You want to know their stories."