Gucci Forever & The Quest For The Contemporary Fountain Of Youth
Gucci Presents: A Series Of Works In “Forever” Movements & Designs Directed By Chad Bentley. The Forever Movements & Designs exhibit the multidimensional nature of timelessness and document the infinite quest for an indefinable quality simply known as cool. Spanning media, timeline, material and discipline The “Forever” Series dialogues with the miraculous and the monumentally mundane. An unlikely assortment of objects and stories showcase a contemporary quest for the fountain of youth and an ownership of time. The collection of works are connected by Chad and Gucci as they share ownership of a moment, an idea, a feeling, a certainty, an understanding of forever. (Hampden Gallery UMASS Amherst 2024)
Gucci Forever: Daydreaming
“Forever” in Daydreaming showcases the forever movements found in between and the creative foray into the void. This series highlights the monumentally mundane moments of freedom that only lost thoughts can bring you. These moments should be cherished, never forced and easily forgotten. Chad and Gucci highlight these important instances as the truest and most simplified essence of life. A view from the car window, a bird fluttering through the air or a wave crashing softly back into the sea with Daydreaming we are given the opportunity to remember and respect these fleeting instances of warmth and existential importance.
Gucci Forever: You Made It
“Forever” in You Made It is about the pinnacle of success. It’s about the importance of goals and the spectacle of achievement. In 1992 in Barcelona Michael Johnson did not win. He didn’t do what he had been working his whole life to do, win. It would take another four years and a summer games in Atlanta to rewrite history. His brazen style of short steps and upright shoulders makes him an anomaly of physical certainty. His bouncing gold chain also defies the interest of drag and weight, but these alien attributes in the running world make this moment even more electric. With unique style and weight of failure at his back Johnson would shatter the world 200m record. This is a glimpse at an eternal moment, as close to forever as you can get. I am the most, I made it. The childhood trophy showcases a sliver of forever. It’s all about the time you did that, the time you made it. Chasing these moments requires cool. Succeeding at the highest level, ever, is a hallmark of cool. Chad and Gucci wanted to encapsulate a childlike appreciation of forever and the instances where we have an object to document our young quest for cool. With Michael we saw the pinnacle. Less than 20 seconds to change the course of history.
Gucci Forever: 8 1/2 X 11
“Forever” in 8 1/2 X 11 highlights the simple qualities of the finished product. The clean and repetitive nature of the copy paper lends itself quite naturally to the infinity effect. Each subtle design/movement is actively animated by flipping the pages of the finished book revealing the hidden beauty of the animated forms. The accepted nature of copy paper as a vehicle for content seamlessly extends an interaction with the unexpected while confronting the viewer with the simple comfort of the forever designs. They are simplistic, contained in an understood vehicle and they begin document the indefinable.
Gucci Forever: Stocks
“Forever” in Stocks delivers the power of documentation. It showcases the inherent beauty of uniqueness. It’s about ownership and the mystique of the tools used to make something irreplaceable. With notes, and unforgeable documents we get intricately designed objects. With a small supply comes allure. With allure we experience an appreciation of cool. The object is, in this case, magnified by the complexity of the world attached to its meaning and worth. It references some of the most complex of human systems. It is the physical representation of the deep complexities of human beings. Forever will only be measured by our reach.
Gucci Forever: Baseball
“Forever” in Baseball showcases the importance of the hero. Understanding cool is not point blank but hidden in intricacies. The meaning is sometimes found in diagnosing the complexity of the details. 1993 gave us a Home Run Derby that showcased a young hero, a kid who was a sure thing, someone who in the present showcases a longevity of cool. The backwards hat is a milestone in popular culture and helped to define a generation of style that still relies on this moment. We know about his swing, the perfection of movement and physics, the movement of endless effort and tireless perfection. The work of a hero. Quiet and understated The Kid himself doesn’t understand this power or the timelessness. The objects are a byproduct of unimaginable cool. There is a synthesis between talent and ability that’s 1 Saturday, April 17, 2021 undeniable. A signed baseball symbolizes a moment in time or even embodies a collection, a career, an era. They are an eternally recognized vehicle of importance and to that Gucci and Chad pay tribute to the simply complicated beauty of the signed baseball, truly a shard of forever.