There’s a new space in Los Angeles where a collection of highly imaginative contemporary art could easily be mistaken for the set of one of those television crime shows. Blaine Halvorson, a local designer and collector of taxidermy and bizarre curiosities such as old dentures, glass eyeballs, detached doll heads and faceless anatomical mannequins, has meticulously arranged these pieces- such as taxidermied dogs playing chess- in vignettes at his 4,500 square foot studio in Culver City. The heavily tattooed Bozeman, Montana native- where he still keeps a home- opened the invitation only gallery three months ago, which has quickly become a word-of-mouth secret among Hollywood’s art-world insiders like Elton John- a huge fan of Halvorson who stops in for a chat now and then.
Like a living art project himself Halvorson is obsessed with pop-culture references and deconstruction, which tends to influence his creative endeavors that include designing clothes, cobbling shoes, and binding books. His latest project is Madeworn, a rugged men’s clothing line that made its debut at Maxfield in LA earlier this year. Now available at his studio by appointment-only, these distressed clothes that are handmade in Japan- which he refers to as homeless chic- are ripped, stained, faded, patched, wrinkled and weathered…appealing to the likes of Brad Pitt, Jude Law and Damien Hirst.
Halvorson also co-founded Junkfood Clothing in 1998, the wildly successful line of vintage looking T-shirts that were in fact new, yet by licensing beloved retro pop culture brands they projected an old-school feel that everyone had to have- which is probably why the company sold for $20 million. You can find more stuffed animals sprinkled about his Montana compound, since hunting is a way of life in his home state- where taxidermy is a common design element- and Amish rocking chairs made out of willow can be found on his front porch, as rustic pioneer-type artifacts never go out of style there either. Halvorson’s home in LA’s sophisticated-country-chic Mandeville Canyon reflects his taste for found and well worn items… but I’m sure there’s a glass eyeball or some other freakish treasure rolling around somewhere amidst his hipster abode. www.madeworn.com
