W magazine recreated

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#GucciHallucination

gucci.com

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Stronger Together

COVERS Photographs by Juergen Teller. Styled by Edward Enninful. Set design by Peter Klein at Frank Reps. Hair for Vega, Pattinson, Gadot, Franco, Robbie, Ronan, and Garfield by Yusef for Rich Hair Care at Factory Downtown; hair for Stone and Kidman by Mara Roszak at Starworks Artists; hair for Lawrence by Jenny Cho at Starworks Artists; hair for Blige by Randy Stodghill at Opus Beauty; makeup for Vega, Pattinson, Gadot, Franco, Kidman, Ronan, and Garfield by Fulvia Farolfi for Chanel; makeup for Stone by Rachel Goodwin at Streeters; makeup for Lawrence by Genevieve Herr; makeup for Robbie by Pati Dubroff at Forward Artists; makeup for Blige by D’Andre Michael; grooming for Hanks by Barbara Guillaume at Forward Artists; manicures by Michelle Saunders for Essie at Forward Artists. Top row, from left: Lawrence wears Dior dress; Dior Fine Jewelry earrings and ring. Beauty: Dior. Stone wears Louis Vuitton dress. Beauty: L’Oréal Paris. Gadot wears Giorgio Armani jacket; Fabergé necklace; her own earring. Beauty: Revlon. Franco wears Giorgio Armani jacket, shirt, and bow tie. Hanks wears Tom Ford suit; Emma Willis shirt; his own jewelry. Blige wears Versace dress; Chopard earrings; De Beers ring. Beauty: MAC Cosmetics. Bottom row, from left: Vega wears Salvatore Ferragamo dress; Tiffany & Co. earrings; Gianvito Rossi shoes. Beauty: Covergirl. Pattinson wears Dior Homme tuxedo, shirt, and bow tie. Robbie wears Louis Vuitton dress; Wing & Weft Gloves gloves. Beauty: Lancôme. Kidman wears Dior dress; Wing & Weft Gloves gloves. Beauty: Neutrogena. Ronan wears Chanel dress; Tiffany & Co. earrings; Jimmy Choo pumps. Beauty: Chanel. Garfield wears Prada suit and top; Converse sneakers.

P h o to g r a p h s by J u e rg e n Te l l e r For the second year in a row, our Best Performances issue pairs actors from different films on the covers. The portfolio, directed by W’s editor at large, Lynn Hirschberg, was photographed on this occasion by Juergen Teller and styled by Edward Enninful, the editor in chief of British Vogue (and previously W’s creative and fashion director). We wanted to mix generations, personalities, people who gave remarkable performances in very different kinds of movies (no one here appears with a costar), and to make it clear that Hollywood is a community and that we should support one another. It’s an idea that everyone should embrace.

W IS A REGISTERED TRADEMARK OF ADVANCE MAGAZINE PUBLISHERS INC. COPYRIGHT ©2018 CONDÉ NAST. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. PRINTED IN THE U.S.A. VOLUME 47, NO. 1. W (ISSN 0162-9115) is published eight times a year by Condé Nast, which is a division of Advance Magazine Publishers Inc. PRINCIPAL OFFICE: Condé Nast, 1 World Trade Center, New York, NY 10007. S. I. Newhouse, Jr., Chairman Emeritus; Robert A. Sauerberg, Jr., President and Chief Executive Officer; David E. Geithner, Chief Financial Officer; Pamela Drucker Mann, Chief Revenue and Marketing Officer. Periodicals postage paid at New York, NY, and at additional mailing offices. Canadian Goods and Services Tax Registration No. 123242885-RT0001. POSTMASTER: SEND ALL UAA TO CFS (SEE DMM 507.1.5.2); NON-POSTAL AND MILITARY FACILITIES: send address corrections to W Magazine, PO Box 37711, Boone IA 50037-0711. FOR SUBSCRIPTIONS, ADDRESS CHANGES, ADJUSTMENTS, OR BACK ISSUE INQUIRIES: Please write to W Magazine, P.O. Box 37711, Boone, IA 50037-0711, call 800-289-0390, or e-mail WMGcustserv@cdsfulfillment.com. Please give both new and old addresses as printed on most recent label. Subscribers: If the Post Office alerts us that your magazine is undeliverable, we have no further obligation unless we receive a corrected address within one year. If during your subscription term or up to one year after the magazine becomes undeliverable, you are dissatisfied with your subscription, let us know. You will receive a full refund on all unmailed issues. First copy of new subscription will be mailed within four weeks after receipt of order. Address all editorial, business, and production correspondence to W Magazine, 1 World Trade Center, New York, NY 10007. For reprints, please contact reprints@condenast.com or 717-505-9701 ext. 101. For re-use permissions, please contact permissions@condenast.com or 800-897-8666. Visit us online at www.wmagazine.com. To subscribe to other Condé Nast magazines on the World Wide Web, visit www.condenastdigital.com. Occasionally, we make our subscriber list available to carefully screened companies that offer products and services that we believe would interest our readers. If you do not want to receive these offers and/or information, please advise us at P.O. Box 37711, Boone, IA 50037-0711 or call 800-289-0390. W IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR THE RETURN OR LOSS OF, OR FOR DAMAGE OR ANY OTHER INJURY TO, UNSOLICITED MANUSCRIPTS, UNSOLICITED ART WORK (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, DRAWINGS, PHOTOGRAPHS, AND TRANSPARENCIES), OR ANY OTHER UNSOLICITED MATERIALS. THOSE SUBMITTING MANUSCRIPTS, PHOTOGRAPHS, ART WORK, OR OTHER MATERIALS FOR CONSIDERATION SHOULD NOT SEND ORIGINALS, UNLESS SPECIFICALLY REQUESTED TO DO SO BY W IN WRITING. MANUSCRIPTS, PHOTOGRAPHS, AND OTHER MATERIALS SUBMITTED MUST BE ACCOMPANIED BY A SELF-ADDRESSED STAMPED ENVELOPE.

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STEFANO TONCHI Editor in Chief ARMAND LIMNANDER Executive Editor ALIX BROWNE Features Director

LYNN HIRSCHBERG Editor at Large

DIANE SOLWAY Arts and Culture Director

ANNE SACHS Executive Digital Director RICKIE DE SOLE Fashion Director

FEATURES

NORA MILCH Accessories Director

OPER ATIONS

ART & VISUALS JEFF BURCH Art Director

MIA ADORANTE Beauty and Health Editor

SHAYAN ASADI Associate Visuals Editor

EVENTS & PR

ROSEANN MARULLI Associate Managing Editor

KELLY MCDONOUGH Production Manager, Digital and Print

ERIN MEAGHER Designer

DIGITAL SARAH LEON Digital Editorial Director

ADRIANA STAN Public Relations Director

JENNIFER MURRAY Production Director

KRISTIN AUBLE Research Director

FRANCINE SCHORE Business Manager

CIAN BROWNE Design Director

ALEXANDRA BEN-GURION Visuals Director

SAM WALKER Accessories and Men’s Market Editor SARAH ZENDEJAS Fashion Market Editor COURTNEY COSTELLO, GABRIELLA DE GIVENCHY Fashion Market Assistants ALLIA ALLIATA DI MONTEREALE Fashion Assistant MEREDITH JAYME Jewelry Assistant

GILLIAN SAGANSKY Contributing Writer/Editor

DIEGO HADIS, ALEXA LAWRENCE Copy Managers

SARA MOONVES Style Director

FASHION & BEAUTY GRACE FULLER Jewelry Editor

KARIN NELSON Senior Features Editor

COREY SABOURIN Copy Director

MARIE SUTER Creative Director

REGAN A. SOLMO Executive Managing Editor

CAROLINE GROSSO Senior Digital Fashion Editor

CHRYSTIN BUNION Assistant to the Editor in Chief

FAN ZHONG Digital Culture Editor

ELIZABETH GALL, ALEXANDRA SANIDAD Research Managers ALYSSA PEÑA Fashion Credits Editor

ERIK MAZA Digital Features Director AARON KURLANDER Digital Visuals Editor

KYLE MUNZENRIEDER News Editor

LAUREN MCCARTHY Digital Fashion News Editor

TRACEY ZANE Associate Director of Branded Content TAYLOR FORD Associate Director, Social Media SAMANTHA ANDRIANO Senior Manager, Social Media STEPHANIE ECKARDT Assistant Digital Editor KATHERINE CUSUMANO, BROOKE MARINE Assistant Editors

CONTRIBUTORS KATIE GRAND Contributing Fashion Creative Director GIANLUCA LONGO Contributing European Editor

GIOVANNA BATTAGLIA ENGELBERT Contributing Fashion Editor

SANDRA BALLENTINE Beauty and Health Editor at Large

CHRIS MITCHELL Chief Business Officer AMBER ESTABROOK POGGI VP, Revenue LILY GIVONI Executive Account Director, Fashion and Luxury

JAIME AVERSA VP, Marketing

JIM CRAEMER Executive Account Director

EMILY DAVIS Executive Account Director, Retail

ERICA SIEGEL Senior Director, Sales

KRISTEN ELLIOT VP, Sales TORIA GARRETT Executive Account Director, Beauty

GINA GERVINO Executive Account Director, Automotive

KATIE O’ HEA Senior Director, Ad Product Development

ANDREA ABBOTT, Book Publishing Director ALISON GLUCK, DEBRA KONSTADT, TINA LOREGIO, SARA NICHOLSON, REBECCA WEINREICH Account Directors MILAN LAURA BOTTA Fashion/Luxury Director 39.02.655.84.221

PARIS ELIZABETH HAYNES Luxury Director, Europe 33.1.4411.7815

LOS ANGELES CHRISSY MILES Executive Account Director 323.965.2891

NORTHWEST CAILIN GONCALVES Account Director, Northwest 323.965.3770

MIDWEST ANNETTE TAUS Executive Account Director 312.649.5820

CANADA BOB DODD Dodd Media Sales 905.885.0664

SOUTHEAST PETER ZUCKERMAN Z Media 305.532.5566

LAURA GARVEY Associate to Chief Business Officer EMILY DOYLE, SYDNEY EPSTEIN, MORGAN SMITH, GIULIA GIACOBELLI (Milan), LAURENCE GUERINET (Paris), KATIE ANAS (Los Angeles), ISRAEL QUINONES, (Northwest), BRIDGET HAYES (Midwest) Sales Associates JAMES GUILFOYLE Executive Director of Finance and Business Operations MARC LEYER Director of Finance and Business Operations CERENE C. JORDAN Senior Business Director MARTINA NAVRATIL Business Director MARY STACHOVSKY Business Analyst HEATHER H. GUMBLEY, ALANA SEGARS, TYLER WATSON Executive Directors, Brand Marketing ABBY ARONOFSKY, ANTHONY CANDELA, KRISTEN REID, SHARI SOBINE, NICOLE SPAGNOLA Directors, Brand Marketing ALEXA AGUGLIARO, ERICA SHEFTMAN, CONNOR STANLEY Associate Directors, Brand Marketing AMARIS GALEA–ORBE, ELEANOR PEERY, REGAN SENG Managers, Brand Marketing DENA RICCIO Executive Director, Culture Studio JASON RAVILLE Creative Director RON FERRAZ Art Director OLIVIA PITTEWAY Senior Manager, Culture Studio AUDRA ASENCIO Executive Director, Experiences SAMUEL DUMAS Director, Experiences KATHLEEN MALONEY Manager, Experiences CAITLIN RAUCH Director, Brand Development DANIELLE RUBINO Senior Research Manager EMILY WORDSMAN Manager, Brand Development RYAN PERRON Director, Sales Operations FAY WU Senior Account Manager NICOLE LOMBARDO Account Manager ABBY WALLMAN, NICOLE MICHAELS Campaign Managers ERICA FIELDMAN, REBECCA BEYER Sales Planners

PUBLISHED BY CONDÉ NAST S.I. NEWHOUSE, JR. Chairman Emeritus ROBERT A. SAUERBERG, JR. President and Chief Executive Officer DAVID E. GEITHNER Chief Financial Officer PAMELA DRUCKER MANN Chief Revenue and Marketing Officer FRED SANTARPIA EVP / Chief Digital Officer JOANN MURRAY Chief Human Resources Officer CAMERON R. BLANCHARD Chief Communications Officer EDWARD CUDAHY Chief Technology Officer MONICA RAY EVP-Consumer Marketing JOSH STINCHCOMB Chief Experience Officer LISA VALENTINO Chief Revenue Officer, Industry Sales, Condé Nast SUZANNE REINHARDT SVP-Financial Planning and Analysis CATHY HOFFMAN GLOSSER SVP-Licensing STEPHANIE FRIED SVP-Research and Analytics LARRY BAACH SVP-Digital Operations REBECCA SACHS SVP-Human Resources MATTHEW STARKER General Manager-Digital RAUL MARTINEZ Head Creative Director CONDÉ NAST ENTERTAINMENT DAWN OSTROFF President JOY MARCUS EVP / General Manager-Digital Video SAHAR ELHABASHI EVP / Chief Operating Officer JEREMY STECKLER EVP-Motion Pictures JOE LABRACIO EVP-Alternative TV AL EDINGTON EVP-CNÉ Studios TEAL NEWLAND SVP-Marketing and Partner Management CONDÉ NAST INTERNATIONAL JONATHAN NEWHOUSE Chairman and Chief Executive WOLFGANG BLAU President

ANNA WINTOUR Artistic Director

Condé Nast is a global media company producing premium content for more than 263 million consumers in 30 markets. www.condenast.com www.condenastinternational.com Subscription Service 800.289.0390. No part of W may be reproduced in any form or by any means without prior written consent from Condé Nast. For reprints, please e-mail reprints@condenast.com or call Wright’s Media, 877.652.5295. For reuse permissions, please e-mail cncollection@condenast.com or call 800.897.8666.

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Into the Wild

Paul Surridge, an understated modernist , has taken the reins at Roberto Cavalli. As Andrea Lee discovers, the results are anything but tame.

Photographs by Paul Wetherell Styled by Silvia Gabrielli

Seeing Paul Surridge, the new creative director for Roberto Cavalli, at the helm of what is arguably the most lavishly provocative label in fashion, is akin to encountering a Zen Buddhist monk on a rococo papal throne. Surridge, 43, is a soft-spoken Englishman whose minimalist aesthetic was honed in the men’s wear design studios at Jil Sander and Calvin Klein; Cavalli has long been the go-to label for, say, a champagnefueled bacchanalia at an oligarch’s mansion. Madonna, Beyoncé, and plenty of other über divas have rocked the red carpet wearing Cavalli’s signature plunging goddess gowns—a riot of animal prints, titillating cutouts, and cascades of crystals, sequins, and ostrich feathers. This opulent seduction fantasy sometimes verged on kitsch, but always captured the male gaze. The defining gaze, of course, was that of Roberto Cavalli, the Florentine designer who liked to refer to himself an “artist of fashion.” An adventurer and bon vivant, Cavalli, 77, was in many ways fashion’s answer to Hugh Hefner. His Latin lover image—permatanned, sunglassed, shirt open to the waist, cavorting on yachts with a succession of international beauties—was central to the brand he built in his name. The anecdotes about his antics are legion. In 1977, he was asked to judge a Miss Universe competition and ended up marrying the first runnerup, Eva Duringer. Then there was his tiff with Michael Jackson over a certain sequined jacket. After the performer tossed the jacket into the crowd during a concert, proclaiming it was “too hot,” Cavalli made a public vow never to design for Jackson again. »

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How the cellphone tSapma rekds fWai sl lh iF ol yn w e e k

P a r t yo p e ruf om r misa sn cteh fee sftui vna?l , p a r t b a c c h a n a l i a , N i c o l e t t a F i o r u c c i ’ s Do Vo l c a n o E x t r a v a g a n z a i n S t r o m b o l i i s n o t f o r t h e f a i n t o f h e a r t . Ch ri stop h e r B ag l ey m a ke s th e tri p.

Portrait by Annabel Elston

July, if you happened be wandering Naples or the MediterILast can’t remember the lasttotime I watchedaround a fashion show. This might ranean island of Stromboli, you might have stumbled upon some unexsound strange coming from the digital editor of a fashion magazine, pected sights. One evening, just before dusk, in the public courtyard of but it’s true and I know exactly whom to blame. a decaying Neapolitan palazzo, 10 naked Italian men faced off in a socMy cellphone. cer match, grunting their way around a makeshift field while spectators Thanks 174a mixture grams ofof engineering wizardry sticks closer watched to with fascination and feignedthat nonchalance. Theto me my own shadow, I experience fashion shows in Solfatara the same nextthan afternoon, on the outskirts of the city, the volcanic crater way thatsulfurous you do -columns throughofasteam screen. being smitten by the lush belched as Not dancers in red unitards leaped around to a soundtrack of spoken word, delivered by theputting poet Holly embroidery of an artisan who probably pulled live a muscle 500 Pester. And at on dawn twosquare days later, on of onefabric. of Stromboli’s French knots three inches No, I’m magnificently concentrating barren dozens young revelers—their smearedto with glit-it on thebeaches, right angle to ofcapture the garment bodies and whether post ter from an all-night dance party at a club up the hill—stripped and saunnow wait noon and if Iartist replied to Peake, that urgent email from my teredor into theuntil water. The British Eddie his emotions surging editor and why thethe God of WiFi hates me. If yougathering asked today - even after orchestrating events as part of an annual called Volan hour after the show — which runway lookthe really stood out, cano Extravaganza, burst into tears before joining crowd in the sea.I’d probably have to scroll through theduring photothe album to tell you. which What you might not have noticed four-day festival, beganisinnot Naples and ended on the austere volcanic island, an elegant This a sign of early dementia. Some of the was coolest, most blonde woman in Loro Piana shorts hovering discreetly at the fringes. inspiring moments I’ve ever had the privilege to witness happened Nicoletta doesn’tcompletely like to make a show of herself at art events at fashionFiorucci week. Being blown away by a young genius or parties—even if she’s responsible for them, as was the case here. The named Varun Sardana who put models in Kathakali make-up and founder of Fiorucci Art Trust, the London-based foundation behind strippedExtravaganza, away the seats (frontowns row two included) a fully immersive Volcano Fiorucci houses for on Stromboli, but she visual spectacle. Watching Randhawa inspire ceded them to staffers and invitedJesse guests, retreating every nightato sexual sleep awakening as shejust prowled the ramp in aaskintight on a yacht moored offshore.down She barely exchanged word withSuneet Peake until thecatsuit. festival’sJoining last day.in (“Eddie is very shy, and he’s I Varma a standing ovation as aworking, brave and Carol don’t want to disturb him,” she told me.) But with her no-nonsense tactGracias returned to the ramp for the final walk — embodying fulness and knack for fostering atmosphere of unbridled creativea dignity andherprofessionalism —andespite having just suffered freedom, Fiorucci has been endearing herself to a whole generation of wardrobe artists. In amalfunction. world full of art foundations that are thinly veiled bids for

Makingit’s artnot on just a remote volcano,shows he said, away from the prey scrutiny of Sadly, the runway that have fallen to the London or New York or Basel, “you’re free from the psychological conCurse Of The Cellphone. It’s the parties, too. straints arefashion normallyweek imposed on artists.” 10 yearsthat ago, parties were legendary. I remember Volcano Extravaganza is also a reflection of its idiosyncratic Italian sneaking into the Lakme Fashion Week (when India patron. Camille Henrot, the 2016 guest artist,after-party called Fiorucci “a female had only one fashion week andgoing all was goodwhere with the world), Ulysses—someone who’s always to places people rarelyonly go to discover a Gatsby-esque abbreviated or that are difficult to access.” world Case inofpoint: Stromboliinhibitions. (pop. 500), You the could dance, fight, make out or Aeolian trip out,Islands. because thisitswas oursumsafe most forbidding of southern Italy’s With stifling mer heat, beaches,and lackmoral of potable andwait ever-rumbling space. Andlava therock paparazzi policewater, had to outside the crater, it’s one of those spots that seem determined to push everyone door.. away—thereby itself at least to creative types. DevToday, it’s moremaking shop talk andirresistible, tepid gossip because we’ve become the otees have ranged from Roberto Rossellini and Ingrid Bergman, who paparazzi, and nobody can risk their career being derailed by immortalized the island in their moody 1950 film Stromboli, Terra di Dio,a careless Snapchat. to Nan Goldin and Cindy Sherman. SoAnyone the nextwho timespends you hear someone with usherblack for acone, front much time onfighting the slopes ofan a giant row themfiery they rock can have mine.from the depths of the earth, one seat, that’stell spitting fragments can’t helprather but face all sorts existential questions, and Fiorucci says I’d much watch the of show. the intensity can be too much for some. “There is a natural selection here,” she said. “You have to have this romanticism about the human being in front of nature, in front of the unknown. It’s an attitude.” Those who vacation on the island in summer quickly realize that even standard holiday activities often involve hazards. Without the right shoes, a stroll along the beach can leave your feet covered in bloody gashes. Road signs identifying tsunami escape routes depict a stick figure fleeing in panic, under the crest of a gigantic wave. Fiorucci first visited the island in 2008, when she learned that Marina Abramovic’s whitewashed house near the main village was for sale. She bought that property and a larger one on the shore, and, with the trust’s artistic director, Milovan Farronato—a Milanese curator with a track social clout, the trust is an outlier that manages to be the real thing. record of innovative collaborations in Italy and elsewhere—began invit“In many ways, this experience is exactly what artists aspire to,” said ing artists for informal residencies. In 2011, Fiorucci and Farronato Peake, who wore a Maradona soccer jersey as he coached his team turned these residencies into an official program, and every summer through the festival’s eight performances, at eight separate locations. since they’ve hosted an artist and a crew of guests for a fully funded

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M E T G a l a 2 018

He a ve n l y Bo d ie s : Fas h i o n a n d t h e Ca t h o lic Im a g i na tio n

On May 7th, the Costume Institute sanctified its love of fashion as it presented “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination.” Andrew Bolton, the curator of one of the most sought after exhibitions in the world, was originally deliberating on Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Judaism and Catholicism for the theme. Creating a dialogue between fashion and the masterworks of religious art in the museum’s holdings, the show was presented in a trinity of locations. Central to the conversation was the papal garb on loan from the Sistine Chapel sacristy, many of which have never been seen outside the Vatican. Lo and Behold for the hottest facades from Fashion’s favourite, first Monday of May.

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Rosie Huntington wearing Ralph Lauren Rihana wearing Maison Margiela Jennifer Lopez wearing custom Balmain Irina Shayk wearing Versace Rita Ora wearing custom Prada Gigi Hadid wearing Versace

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Feats of Clay

Thomas Houseago’s epic sculptures are largely shaped by life. Susan Morgan meets the artist on his home turf.

Photographs by Jason Schmidt

Thomas Houseago’s drawing studio, in the Frogtown neighborhood of Los Angeles, is smartly outfitted with plywood bookshelves, comfortable couches, and a low table perennially laid out with a stainless steel carafe of hot water, a bamboo whisk, and an assortment of matcha tea bowls. It’s a contemplative domestic scene set against an exhilarating backdrop—a wall covered floor to ceiling by a grid of wildly sundry images of movie scenes, comic book characters, architecture, sculpture, musicians, murderers, urban decay, masks, works in progress, and family snapshots. Each addition to this constantly changing collage introduces new juxtapositions and unexpected visual rhymes—mapping out an ever evolving portrait of the artist. Houseago began to collect these images in 2013, after he was invited to give a talk in Leeds, his hometown in the north of England. “I was radically against doing it,” he says, brusquely interrupting himself to up his complaint. “I was rabidly against doing that talk.” His voice has a hoarse sweetness and still betrays his Yorkshire origins and the instilled British trait for self-effacement. Houseago left Leeds in 1991, at the age of 19, and embarked on what he describes as his “itinerant” education and career. After completing a foundation year at Leeds College of Art, where he was encouraged to channel his furious energy and ideas into performances and actions (he covered himself in dirt, set fires, and launched faux Scud missiles packed with ink-soaked rags from the rooftops), Houseago received a grant to attend Central Saint Martins, in London, and was suddenly transplanted to what seemed like a world away. A bristling misfit, he landed in the midst of aspiring fashion designers and would-be theoreticians. “At Christmas, they all left to go skiing,” he recalls with mock horror and a whiff of disdain. He went on to De Ateliers, a studio program in Amsterdam, where he met his former wife, the American painter Amy Bessone. The couple spent eight years living and working in Brussels (eight years of “lost weekends,” as Houseago has described it). Bankrupted by tax bills and delinquent in their rent, they decamped empty-handed to Los Angeles in 2003. Too broke to ship work or hire a dumpster, Houseago chopped up 20 of his finished sculptures into bits and buried them in a field before leaving the country. Upon settling in Southern California, Houseago worked days on construction sites and nights in the studio drawing obsessively and building audacious, emotionally charged large-scale figurative sculptures. His

nocturnal studio practice, regularly fueled by alcohol, was a performance piece of jackass daredevil bravado: Although he’s been sober for four years (frothy green tea is now his drink of choice), Houseago is still antic and hilarious when he regales listeners with tales of falling off ladders, wrestling with chain saws, and narrowly escaping dismemberment or self-castration. One morning, in 2006, at the crack of dawn, the Miami-based collectors Don and Mera Rubell, who were looking for work to include in a group show of L.A. artists entitled “Red Eye,” stopped to see Houseago on their way to LAX at the insistence of the art dealer David Kordansky. The Rubells ended up buying every piece they were shown in one fell swoop and offered to help finance Houseago’s bronze-casting expenses. Things moved quickly after that. In 2010, Houseago’s Tuf-Cal plaster– and–iron rebar sculpture Baby—a squatting figure with an ominous, disarmingly vulnerable presence, measuring more than eight feet tall—was featured in the Whitney Biennial. (Francesco Bonami, the curator that year, hadn’t managed to visit Houseago’s studio, but he discussed with Houseago the dimensions of the Whitney’s elevators over the phone.) Work on Baby took place during the course of what Houseago describes as one very weird summer: Bessone was pregnant with their second child, there were wildfires near their home in the hills, and a murder had taken place directly outside his studio window. When the art shippers arrived to transport Baby to New York, they constructed the crate on the sidewalk alongside the victim’s makeshift altar, surrounded by onlookers. “It was like something from a Fellini movie,” recalls Houseago. “It was beautiful.” Following the biennial, Baby was included in Houseago’s first major solo museum show, at Modern Art Oxford. Since then, his enormous hollow-eyed masks, mythic figures, and striding men have appeared in art institutions around the world, from the Palazzo Grassi, in Venice, to the Broad museum, in Los Angeles. “When people say ‘skeletons in the closet,’ I always literally think I’m making the skeletons in the closet,” Houseago observes wryly. “I think my work, figurative sculpture, is the skeleton in the closet.” That hometown talk that Houseago was determined to avoid was, in fact, the annual guest lecture at the Henry Moore Institute, a decidedly heavyweight honor for any sculptor. “It was pretty soon after we’d met that he said that he wasn’t going to do the Leeds lecture,” recalls

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WMAG VOLUME 3 | 2018

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WMAG VOLUME 3 | 2018

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WMAG VOLUME 3 | 2018

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