'Figures of Speech' is the first museum exhibition devoted to the work of the genre-bending artist and designer Virgil Abloh. Abloh pioneers a practice that cuts across media and connects visual artists, musicians, graphic designers, fashion designers, and architects.

Abloh cultivated an interest in design and music at an early age, finding inspiration in the urban culture of Chicago. While pursuing a master’s degree in architecture from the Illinois Institute of Technology, he worked on album covers, concert designs, and merchandising. In 2013, Abloh founded his stand-alone fashion brand Off-White and, in 2018, assumed the position of artistic director of Louis Vuitton’s menswear.

Organized by the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago and set in an immersive space designed by Rem Koolhaas’s renowned architecture firm OMA*AMO, the exhibition offers an in-depth look at highlights of Abloh’s career, including signature clothing collections, video documentation of iconic fashion shows, graphic design work, collaborative projects with contemporary artists, as well as pieces from his inaugural design collection, EFFLORESCENCE, first presented at Galerie kreo in 2019.

Virgil in process © Julien Cedolin

© Mel Taing

Virgil Abloh's survey 'Figures of Speech' toured four major American institutions from 2019 to 2021: the Museum of Chicago, the High Museum of Atlanta, the ICA in Boston, and the Brooklyn Museum.