This exhibition showcases the work of trendsetting hair and makeup artist Katsuya Kamo (1965–2020), whose career included multiple collaborations with many of the world’s most renowned fashion labels.
Kamo was a stalwart of the fashion scene both at home in Japan and internationally, providing hair and makeup styling for the catwalk shows of top fashion houses, and magazine photo shoots. Hair and makeup design that belonged very much to the realm of the avant-garde—obscuring the faces of models, or featuring spikes or roses made from paper, broken mirrors, or masses of feathers, for example—yet at the same time refined and elegant in form, caused a stir wherever they appeared. Kamo’s headpieces in particular possess a universal, sculptural beauty, functioning as fashion items but equally as unique works of art in their own right.
“Katsuya Kamo: KAMO HEAD” is a comprehensive survey of Kamo’s creative endeavors that focuses primarily on a series of headpieces actually worn by models at premium fashion shows, and also includes magazine articles, idea sources, documents detailing Kamo’s production processes, and sculptural objects he made outside of his fashion-world work. This will be the first art museum exhibition devoted exclusively to the career of this celebrated stylist and artist.