Expand with Dorothy Fagan
Dorothy Fagan believes that emotions are signals to express creatively and that creativity is an expression of the divine. That openness to divine guidance in her art charges it with magic - a magic that landed three of her pieces in the “DressME” exhibition at the M.A.D.S. gallery in Milan, Italy during the city’s famed spring fashion week this year.
Fagan had been approached by other European galleries to exhibit her work but declined due to the logistics of transporting art or flying during the pandemic. “It’s just not the right time to be doing that for me,” she says. But the “DressME” show was the perfect mix of theme and convenience to make Fagan say, “Yes!”. The art in the show was all displayed digitally, the digital display being as much a part of the exhibition as the pieces chosen. Fagan says, “They have big screens throughout the gallery, and they project the exhibition work throughout the gallery on the screens- very high tech. It saved me from having to send a piece of art overseas.” M.A.D.S. also published catalogs with write ups about the pieces by the curators who found them. The theme of the show centered fashion week and the Oscar Wilde quote, “One should either be a work of art or wear a work.” This theme resonated with Fagan because she likes to make wearable art using digital images of her paintings as well. “The whole concept of Giorgio Massari’s (the curator) attraction to my painting was the light and the color,” Fagan explains. “The premise of the show was so attractive to me because it ties the color and light of the actual art to the color and light of the wearable art that I do.”
Three of Fagan’s paintings appeared in the exhibition. One of them, “The Blooming Moonflower Dream”, appears in the CAC September/October all media show. You can see a video of Fagan talking about this painting on her website along with a short video of the show itself.