FENCE exhibition – John Margaritis 3-piece installation alongside Alessandro Simonetti’s framed photographs
Dear Shaded Viewers,
I’m happy to tell you about the latest venture of my friend Alessandro Simonetti who I’ve told you about since his first U.P.W.W. collection in the past and his books on Raymond Petition, Larry Clark, Scott Campbell, John Giorno and the Wu Tang Clan. His latest adventure is the current book and exhibition called FENCE.
FENCE – an exhibition and capsule collection collaboration between John Margaritis founder of creative collective, New York Sunshine Install Team, and workwear brand U.P.W.W. Creative Director, Alessandro Simonetti, which launched during Men’s Paris Fashion Week through Jan 22.
Margaritis’ 3-piece installation is inspired by Simonetti’s latest body of work – black-and-white photographs of chain-link fences shot in and around lower Manhattan construction sites from Alphabet City to the Financial District. Simonetti presents ten Xerox prints (36×52”) in editions of 3, accompanied by a bound book of 200 pages, co-published with CLASSIC Paris.
Following collaborations with Le Bron James, Heron Preston, and Virgil Abloh, Margaritis also designed a 10-piece capsule collection presented alongside the workwear brand U.P.W.W. FW20 collection – a division of US-based clothing company Utility Pro that, since 1995, has produced high-visibility workwear for air traffic controllers, traffic enforcement agents, and construction workers.
About U.P.W.W.
U.P.W.W. debuted in 2017 under the direction of artist Alessandro Simonetti as a division of workwear brand Utility Pro – a US-based clothing company that, since 1995, has produced high-visibility workwear for air traffic controllers, traffic enforcement agents, and construction workers. Using workwear garments as reference silhouettes, and taking advantage of the performance aspects of its parent company, U.P.W.W. creates fashion workwear from typo-driven graphic t-shirts to complex outerwear pieces such as weather-proof jackets and pants emblazoned with reflective stripes. Each season U.P.W.W. works with like-minded brands to present capsule collections. Collaborators have included Barneys, Reebok, New York Sunshine Install Team, and Office Magazine as well with artists such as Cali De Witt, Dylan Kraus and Malt Disney. U.P.W.W. and collaboration collections have hit top doors of international retailers such as VFiles (NYC); Gr8 (Tokyo) Addicted (Seoul) Hypebeast/HBX (online), Bstn (Munich) Galeries Lafayette (Paris), La Rinascente,(Milan), Luisa Via Roma (Florence), Sugar (Arezzo), Illum (Copenhagen), Caliroots (Sweden), Bodega (Boston), End. Clothing (UK), UBIQ (Philadelphia), and Sneakersnstuff (New York).@upww_newyork
About Alessandro Simonetti
New York City-based photographer Alessandro Zuek Simonetti was born in Italy and grew up parallel to the urban street cultures of the early 90’s. His distinct photographic language is reflected by his deep interest in underground subcultures. He has garnered international acclaim through his photography, series of self-published works, and curatorial projects on subjects including Raymond Petition, Larry Clark, Scott Campbell, John Giorno and the Wu Tang Clan. Simonetti’s work has been shown in the Tate Modern London, Viafarini Milan, OHWOW Gallery Miami, and at international art fairs including Artissima in Turin and Art Basel Switzerland. In Milano he worked with the NYC photographer Cheryl Dunn on a double solo show and catalogue UNCAN-NY. With CLASSIC Paris, Simonetti has published On Jail Art, Horse Races & Baloney Sandwiches – an iconic conversation between Scott Campbell and Raymond Pettibon – and Cette Vie Qu’on Mène withAna Kras, Peter Sutherland and Lele Saveri with an exhibition at Galerie Deruillone. Other published projects include Read Between The Lines for PS1 MoMA and The Last Neighborhood Standing for the Leica Gallery of New York City. Simonetti became Co-founder and Creative Director of U.P.W.W. in 2017 @zuekster
About New York Sunshine Install Team/John Margaritis
New York Sunshine Install Team is a multidisciplinary creative collective working at the cusp of art, design, and fashion lead by John Margaritis. Without a formal education in art or fashion, Margaritis cut his cloth with a t-shirt line and stylized branding inspired by Long Island’s surf culture, the streets of New York, and a fan of NY basketball. His father who works in construction influenced his hands-on approach to working with raw materials for his artworks. New York Sunshine Install Team creates limited edition clothing and unique immersive experiences that speak to the moment, often raw and irreverent and defying expectations. Past work includes art installations during Art Basel Miami, Stems Gallery (Brussels) and the Watermill Center Summer Benefit and retail collaborations with Le Bron James, NIKE, Golden Goose and Colette, Heron Preston, and Virgil Abloh. @newyorksunshine
U.P.W.W. debuted in 2017 under the direction of artist Alessandro Simonetti as a division of workwear brand Utility Pro – a US-based clothing company that, since 1995, has produced high-visibility workwear for air traffic controllers, traffic enforcement agents, and construction workers. Using workwear garments as reference silhouettes, and taking advantage of the performance aspects of its parent company, U.P.W.W. creates fashion workwear from typo-driven graphic t-shirts to complex outerwear pieces such as weather-proof jackets and pants emblazoned with reflective stripes. Each season U.P.W.W. works with like-minded brands to present capsule collections. Collaborators have included Barneys, Reebok, New York Sunshine Install Team, and Office Magazine as well with artists such as Cali De Witt, Dylan Kraus and Malt Disney. U.P.W.W. and collaboration collections have hit top doors of international retailers such as VFiles (NYC); Gr8 (Tokyo) Addicted (Seoul) Hypebeast/HBX (online), Bstn (Munich) Galeries Lafayette (Paris), La Rinascente,(Milan), Luisa Via Roma (Florence), Sugar (Arezzo), Illum (Copenhagen), Caliroots (Sweden), Bodega (Boston), End. Clothing (UK), UBIQ (Philadelphia), and Sneakersnstuff (New York).@upww_newyork
About Alessandro Simonetti
New York City-based photographer Alessandro Zuek Simonetti was born in Italy and grew up parallel to the urban street cultures of the early 90’s. His distinct photographic language is reflected by his deep interest in underground subcultures. He has garnered international acclaim through his photography, series of self-published works, and curatorial projects on subjects including Raymond Petition, Larry Clark, Scott Campbell, John Giorno and the Wu Tang Clan. Simonetti’s work has been shown in the Tate Modern London, Viafarini Milan, OHWOW Gallery Miami, and at international art fairs including Artissima in Turin and Art Basel Switzerland. In Milano he worked with the NYC photographer Cheryl Dunn on a double solo show and catalogue UNCAN-NY. With CLASSIC Paris, Simonetti has published On Jail Art, Horse Races & Baloney Sandwiches – an iconic conversation between Scott Campbell and Raymond Pettibon – and Cette Vie Qu’on Mène withAna Kras, Peter Sutherland and Lele Saveri with an exhibition at Galerie Deruillone. Other published projects include Read Between The Lines for PS1 MoMA and The Last Neighborhood Standing for the Leica Gallery of New York City. Simonetti became Co-founder and Creative Director of U.P.W.W. in 2017 @zuekster
About New York Sunshine Install Team/John Margaritis
New York Sunshine Install Team is a multidisciplinary creative collective working at the cusp of art, design, and fashion lead by John Margaritis. Without a formal education in art or fashion, Margaritis cut his cloth with a t-shirt line and stylized branding inspired by Long Island’s surf culture, the streets of New York, and a fan of NY basketball. His father who works in construction influenced his hands-on approach to working with raw materials for his artworks. New York Sunshine Install Team creates limited edition clothing and unique immersive experiences that speak to the moment, often raw and irreverent and defying expectations. Past work includes art installations during Art Basel Miami, Stems Gallery (Brussels) and the Watermill Center Summer Benefit and retail collaborations with Le Bron James, NIKE, Golden Goose and Colette, Heron Preston, and Virgil Abloh. @newyorksunshine
