The SuperGorgeous Award is a new annual top list celebrating the very best in creative collaborations between art and brands, entertainment, celebrity and pop culture over the past 12 months.
We look back to spectacular releases, celebrity moments, auction records and art news that broke the internet in 2017. All shortlists were carefully selected by our team, while the final results were left up to you—our audience; and here’s how you voted in this year’s SuperGorgeous awards:
If you first want to see the complete list of the SuperGorgeous nominations, Go here
1. Best Art X Brand Collaboration 2017
Winner: Koons x Louis Vuitton
The collaboration between Jeff Koons x Louis Vuitton might be the most divisive art x brand collaboration, but well, it was definitely the most talked-about capsule of last year. Some calling it a stroke of a genius, that Koons— in cooperation with one of the best-known museums of the world, the Louvre— printed masterpieces of all-time art history on leather goods of the iconic French luxury brand. While the original masters— from Rubens to Monet— are with no doubt still the “real deal”, Koons managed to make the art world more accessible with his remix in the “Masters” capsule.
Editor’s Pick: Liu Bolin x Moncler
Liu Bolin x Moncler was locked in the editor’s pick, with the amazing, SS 2017 campaign shot by Annie Leibovitz for the Italian fashion house.
The result is a chameleon-like camouflage, which eliminates any certainty of reality. Chinese artist Liu Bolin, master of the impossible and the invisible, is renown for his illusionist settings in which his painted body is visible against a variety of backdrops.
2. Best Celebrity x Art Moment 2017
Winner: Jennifer Lawrence Painted by John Currin for Vogue
We loved Jennifer Lawrence by John Currin for the 2017 anniversary cover of Vogue— and our audience did, too. For the prestigious 125th anniversary September issue, the actress served as the muse of an oil painting, wearing a patterned fur hat by Miu Miu. The special edition had 4 art covers in total; the three other covers were shot by Annie Leibovitz, Bruce Weber and the Dutch photographer duo Inez and Vinoodh depicting the actress.
Editor’s Pick: Swizz Beatz and No Commission
With a fresh graduation from Harvard under his belt, hip hop artist and producer Swizz Beatz seems unstoppable. When no roller-skating around his gigantic KAWS sculpture, he might be on stage at one of his “No Commission” outlets— an artist-only fair concept in collaboration with Bacardi, that has already stirred up several global cities and many more being in the pipeline for this year. Apart from letting artists exhibit their own works without the help of a gallery (hence the title “No Commission”), he has always rocked the stage during the events and connects art and music in a visionary way.
3. Most Entertaining Art World ’Grams 2017
Winner: @failunfailunmefailun
That’s right. This year, the SuperGorgeous Award for the “Most Entertaining Art World ‘Gram” goes to @failunfailunmefailun, voted by you.
Her re-mastered collages of iconic paintings cheer our daily IG scroll and obviously also yours.
From Mona Lisa as part of a modern girls squad to Vermeers Girl with a pearl earring in Sharon Stones’Basic Instinct pose, the artist seems to be never in lack of creativity and transforms art history into IG memes.
Editor’s Pick: @youngthugaspaintings
Old master pieces meet hip hop artist Young Thug in the bad-ass yet smartly observed feed of @youngthugaspaintings. While you certainly recognise some of the original artworks borrowed from the world’s leading museums, naughty Hajar Benjida, photography student from the Netherlands, pairs photographs of the rapper with iconic pieces of art. The account now has over 33,000 followers, with the uber-producer Metro Boomin being an early fan, and Thug himself boosting it with a re-tweet. Also, the cultivated art crowd seems to fall for it, so he nailed our editor’s pick.
4. Female Artist Who Has Made 2017 “Her” Year
Winner: Genevieve Gaignard
Far and away, the winning nominee for “Female Artist Who Made 2017 Her Year” was Genevieve Gaignard. Her artistic selfies, staged with incredible outfits in the context of American culture, let us feel her alter egos. Whether she poses in a swimsuit at “Muscle Beach” or quietly waits, loaded with groceries and watermelons, in front of a wedding shop. Thanks for taking us on incredible journeys exploring identity. And we are not less proud that she also graced the cover of our inaugural print mag last spring.
Editor’s Pick: Cao Fei
Chinese multimedia artist Cao Fei adopted cutting-edge technology to interpret her very own version of mobility — lifting BMW’s famed art car series into the digital age.
After a solo show at MoMA PS1 in 2016, the Guggenheim just announced last December that Cao Fei is being selected as one of five artists for a major commission debuting in May.
5. Most Viral Art Story 2017
Winner: The Selfie Fame of Kusama’s “Infinity Rooms”
Our “Most Viral Art Story 2017” winner, Kusama`s “Infinity Rooms” takes home the first-place trophy.
No other artwork went more viral than the countless selfies being taken in one of the polka-dot ladie’s mirror-filled installations. The Hirshhorn museum alone welcomed a record 475,000 visitors, and the hashtag #InfiniteKusama has reached around 100 million Twitter and Instagram accounts.
The artist also opened her own museum in Japan last November, so there will always be a place on earth to take your very own Kusama snapshot, in (the very unlikely) case, you haven’t managed so far.
Editor’s Pick: Angelhaha – the Art-World-Only Airline
Awarded as the editor’s pick of the “Most Viral Art Story of 2017″ is first art-world-only airline Angelhaha, that started its operations just end of last year with the maiden flight to Art Basel Miami. Qin Min is the brain behind this adventure, and with no doubt, her vision rocks. We are ready for boarding andcan’t wait to fasten our seatbelt .
Photos via Louis Vuitton, Moncler, Vogue, The Dean Collection, Bacardi, @failunfailunmefailun, @youngthugaspaintings, Genevieve Gaignard, Cao Fei, BMW, Artfullyawear, Angelhaha
