INTERDISCIPLINARY DESIGNER AND VISUAL ARTIST LAUREN DREIER ANNOUNCES “STRANDS”, A NEW YORK FASHION WEEK SPRING/SUMMER 2019 EVENT EXPLORING THE INTERSECTION OF ART, DESIGN, TECHNOLOGY AND MUSIC

Exhibition to take place Thursday, September 6th, featuring paintings, garments and mechatronic sculptures with performances set to an original score

(NEW YORK - August 17, 2018) In conjunction with New York Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2019, interdisciplinary designer and visual artist Lauren Dreier announces “Strands”, an exhibition exploring the intersection of art, design, technology and music. The show will feature original garments, paintings and mechatronic sculptures, all designed and fabricated by Dreier. During the event, the garments will be presented in two performances set to an original score composed and performed by Morgan Gerstmar (viola), accompanied by Dreier (violin), Molly Germer (violin) and Thea Mesirow (cello). Strands takes place on Thursday, September 6th from 1:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., with performances scheduled for 5:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.

A newcomer to New York Fashion Week, Dreier has a diverse background spanning art, architecture, design and engineering. Her work explores the finite yet transformative nature of materials as a possible agent for mediation between disciplines.

“Many have written and reported on the problems within the fashion industry: promoting questionable ideals, lacking criticism and catering to a privileged class are just a few,” Dreier says. “Looking at fashion objectively as a culture of making—inevitably material, geometric and human—can give form to ideas that might come from elsewhere. I hold fast to the notion that I am not drifting and dabbling, but rather letting these various cultures and methods inform one another. At the end of the day, it is just one work.”

In “Strands,” stripes and striated forms are used to describe, explore and create volume, literally weaving together the exhibition’s many parts and materials. The garments are made from both traditional and non-traditional materials, including various plastics, natural stone, wood and leather. Five striped oil paintings will hang on the walls, while the mechatronic sculptures will utilize sensors and motors to react and move to environmental stimuli. During the performances, models wearing the garments will partake in the execution of the score, randomly delivering pieces of music to the musicians to play. Guests are invited to move about the exhibition space, take in the visuals and enjoy the sounds in fluid real-time.

“Strands” is open to the public. 

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About Lauren Dreier

Dreier attended Tufts University as a first-year Mechanical Engineering student and later transferred to the University of Pennsylvania where she graduated magna cum laude in 2007 with a BA in Architecture. She is inevitably interested in the role of the creative practitioner in this process and is constantly revising her approach to making and form-finding as a consequence of her diverse interests, encounters, and ever-expanding tool collection. For information on Dreier’s work visit http://lauren.design.

About Morgan Gerstmar

Gerstmar, a Los Angeles-based violist/violinist, composer and educator, will lead the musical portion of the event. Her work in experimental composition and performance has premiered in Los Angeles area venues such as LACE, Pacific Design Center, the wulf., the Standard Hotel, Human Resources, SPACE and other pop-up galleries. A common thread throughout Gerstmar’s compositions is giving choices to the performers to generate sound, which leaves a distinctive timestamp to each performance. http://www.morganleegerstmar.com.