The School of Visual Arts and RXR Realty Debut

“One of A Kind” Public Art Exhibition at 75 Rockefeller Plaza

October 11 - November 4 

September 13, 2018—New York, NY—School of Visual Arts (SVA), in collaboration with RXR Realty, presents “One of a Kind,” a public art exhibition of couture garments that proves glamour doesn’t have to come at a high cost. Made out of such nontraditional materials as tree bark, tea bags and packing peanuts, the outfits in “One of a Kind” were created by BFA Design students in response to a challenge to make couture out of a single material or item for a class project. In this special presentation on display through Sunday, November 4 at 75 Rockefeller Plaza, curated by SVA 3D Design Chair and College alumnus Kevin O’Callaghan, viewers can see 13 of the eight-foot sculptural achievements through 150 feet of window space running along 52nd Street.

Inspired by common items found in kitchens, Filipa Mota (BFA 2018 Design) created a 1920s-style dress made out of 382 forks, 59 spoons and two ladles sourced from vintage stores. This chic design earned her Portugal’s 2018 "Woman of the Year in the Visual Arts" award. Mert Avadya (BFA 2018 Design) made a dress out of 12,500 pennies to "underline the money that we spend on fashion," says the designer, whose base material cost, apart from the wire used to attach the coins, was under $30. Fernando Alvarenga (BFA 2019 Design) created a white dress out of four gallons of paint through a painstaking process that took 300 pours. All 13 of the stunning garments were conceived and executed within a two-week timeline in 2017. 

Situated within the famed Rockefeller Center complex, “One of a Kind” is also within striking distance of The Museum of Modern Art, the historic “21” Club restaurant and the Paley Center for Media. The public exhibition aims to cater to fashion and art lovers and visitors, who, upon viewing the garments, will marvel at the details and mastery of the featured artists on the rise. “One of a Kind” reflects an existing partnership between School of Visual Arts and RXR Realty aimed at providing the College’s students visibility throughout the RXR portfolio, including Starrett-Lehigh, which houses SVA’s Chelsea Gallery.

“We are proud of our long-standing partnership with the School of Visual Arts and continue to develop opportunities to feature SVA artists throughout the RXR Realty portfolio,” said Todd Rechler, chief construction and development officer at RXR Realty. “Bringing art and culture to not only our tenants at 75 Rockefeller Plaza and our entire portfolio, but to the community at large has always been a key pillar of the company.”

SVA BFA Design students are encouraged to push the limits of design to make the seemingly impossible a reality. "If you learn the integrity of materials, you learn what they can and can't do, and there isn't any project that you can't tackle," says O'Callaghan (BFA 1980 Media Arts), a 2014 inductee into the Art Directors Hall of Fame and the award-winning set and exhibition designer who created the MTV Movie Award. Callahan’s students have exhibited all over the world and most recently in New York’s Grand Central Station and on Madison Avenue. Their work has been featured on The Today Show, NY1, CBS News and in many publications.

RXR Realty LLC (“RXR”), is a New York-based, vertically integrated real estate operating and development company with expertise in a wide array of value creation activities, including distressed investments, uncovering value in complex transactions, structured finance investments and real estate development. RXR’s core growth strategy is focused on New York City and the surrounding region. The RXR platform manages 72 commercial real estate properties and investments with an aggregate gross asset value of approximately $17.7 billion, comprising approximately 23.1 million square feet of commercial operating properties and approximately 6,300 multi-family and for sale units in various stages of development in the New York Metropolitan area.