It would appear that the highest form of artistic expression, by today’s standards, is to design a T-Shirt. Books such as “The T-shirt Book” and “100% Cotton: T-Shirt Graphics” chronicle the best in T-shirt design. The Website provides a platform for designers to submit to their continuous open Ｔ-shirt design competition where users vote on which ones get printed. NYC’s Zakka held a similar T-shirt competition earlier this year that culminated in a gallery show.

The latest installment celebrating the Ｔ-shirt is a show currently up at Daniel Silverstein Gallery entitled “100 Artists 100 T-Shirts”. The show is a collection of Ｔ-shirts borne from artists, graphic designers, and fashion designers alike. While the show is somewhat lacking in curatorial discipline, it more than makes up in creative output.

The collection of shirts covered a spectrum of interpretations to the classic “T”. While the majority of shirts were of the silk-screened graphic variation, a number of shirts took on a more sculptural approach. Some abandoned notions of wear ability altogether.

In all, the show “100 Artists 100 T-Shirts” confirms the legitimacy of the T-shirt as cultural icon it’s acceptance as art. It certainly instilled a desire in me to make my own mark onto cloth as well as maybe shell out some money for my already expansive shirt collection.

100 Artists 100 T-Shirts
Date: July 16th – August 18th, 2003
Address: 520 West 21st Street, New York, NY 10011
Tel: +1 212 929 4300
https://www.silversteingallery.com