Walton Fine Arts Gallery in Chelsea is presenting Brazilian artist Alê Jordão’s inaugural London solo exhibition GOD SAVE THE SNEAKERS, which showcases a compilation of Jordão’s diverse body of work, now gathered in his eponymous book.
Jordão’s multi-disciplinary artistic practice combines his passion for art, fashion and design with a love of street style and sneaker and skater culture. He started collecting sneakers in the early 1990s when he was living in Brazil, and he found them difficult to source. Now he owns more than 3,000 pairs and his collection has inspired his multi-disciplinary artistic practice.
Jordão has been incorporating sneakers into his art for over twenty years, in the form of neons, skateboards, graffiti, boomboxes and even digitally printed rugs. Fusing urban, street and pop art with a sense of fun, what started out as an obsession for collecting sneakers has turned into an extensive artistic oeuvre which can be found in collections such as the National Historical Museum in Rio de Janeiro, the MACS Museum of Contemporary Art in Sorocaba-SP and the Palazzo Barberini in Rome.
After studying fine art at Fundação Armando Alvares Penteado in Brazil, Jordão moved to Milan to study design at Domus before embarking on a career as a multi-disciplinary artist and author of several books. His work can be found in museum collections all over the world.
Jordão launched his ‘God Save the Sneakers’ book at Walton Fine Arts in London before heading to Milan for a book launch at the ADI Design Museum. The exhibition at Walton Fine Arts was curated by Lillian Pacce, who suggested London as a location since his book references the Queen of England.
Alê Jordão explains: “It all came from when I heard the Sex Pistols God Save the Queen. I made a pun and put it on Sneakers like the Queen of the Streets, in a real and organic way, inspired by skateboarding.”
Alê Jordão ‘GOD SAVE THE SNEAKERS’ is at Walton Fine Arts Gallery until 30th May, 2024.
