Fashion and Art Lovers From Around the Globe Flock to the Leiber Collection

From: Jeffrey Sussman, Inc.

Marketing Public Relations

249 East 48 Street FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

New York, NY 10017

For: The Leiber Collection

Contact: Jeffrey Sussman

FASHION AND ART AFICIANODOS FROM

AROUND THE GLOBE FLOCK TO

THE LEIBER COLLECION

Magnificent Obsession, an exhibition at the Leiber Collection that opened on May 27, has been attracting lovers of art and fashion from around the globe. The exhibition includes a varied collection of artful Judith Leiber handbags that have been loaned by three prominent collectors of Judith Leiber handbags. They are Kelly Ellman of Paradise Valley, Arizona; Susan Morrow of Montecito, California; and Saini Kannan of Irvine, California. Their collections have not previously been exhibited as part of the Leiber Collection.

To accompany that dazzling display of artful handbags are paintings, drawings, and prints by critically acclaimed modernist artist Gerson Leiber that depict the world of fashionistas and runway-show habitués during the 1970, 1980s, and 1990s. His depictions have a Daumier-like satirical quality that adds a deliciously piquant tang to the exhibition.

There are no other exhibitions that so attractively combine such sharply conceived aesthetics of fashion and art. Indeed, the combined exhibition of works by Judith and Gerson Leiber makes manifest the words of critics who have referred to the two indomitable husband and wife creators as a “dynamic artistic duo,” whose works span the length of their 71-year-old marriage; it is a partnership that has not only comprised shared aesthetic principles, but also a profound sense of the responsibilities of artists. Theirs is a marriage of true minds.

Judith’s handbags have been declared objets d'art by Geoffrey Beene; and in the New York Times, Hilton Kramer, the paper’s former premier art critic, praised Gerson for his mastery and skill of composition and color. Harold Koda, curator in charge of the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, wrote: “…there is a beautiful resonance of aesthetic interests between Judith and Gerson, especially in their mutual love of brilliant color and rigorous structure.”

The Leiber Collection sits amidst seven acres of gardens, each one individually designed by Gerson Leiber. It is all open free-of-charge to visitors every Saturday, Sunday, and Wednesday from Memorial Day to Labor Day from 1 PM to 4 PM. It is located at 446 Old Stone Highway, Springs, East Hampton, NY. The website is www.leibercollection.org

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