Brooklyn, NY, USA – May 1 2024: The entrance to the Brooklyn Museum on Eastern Parkway in New York City. One of the city’s cultural institution landmarks.
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Brooklyn Museum has announced a groundbreaking new limited-time exhibition that blends art, fashion and science.
On May 16, 2026, Iris van Herpen: Sculpting the Senses will make its North American debut at the museum, showcasing more than 140 haute couture creations alongside contemporary art from artists such as Philip Beesley, Rogan Brown, Casey Curran, Kim Keever, and Nick Knight, in addition to unique design and scientific artifacts. The much-anticipated exhibit, which will run through December 6, 2026, will explore how renowned Dutch fashion designer Iris van Herpen fuses various mediums of expression.
The avant-garde exhibition first launched at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, before making its way to Australia at Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art, Singapore’s ArtScience Museum, Kunsthal Rotterdam and, now, New York City. Drawing from wide-ranging fields spanning mathematics, neuroscience, marine biology, paleontology, mycology, mineralogy, astronomy and more, it aims to evoke the often unseen structures of nature — a theme that is prevalent in much of Van Herpen’s works.
Featuring elements that explore the mystery and might of water, the architecture of the skeleton and anatomical systems, the physics of motion, the perception of sound and light and the generative interconnectedness of nature, each section in the exhibition showcases the designer’s innovative approach to materials, movement and technology. In addition, Sculpting the Senses will offer visitors a rare opportunity to engage firsthand with
I’m honored to present Sculpting the Senses at the Brooklyn Museum in New York City,” Van Herpen said in a press release. “This city’s energy, creativity, and openness to new ideas have long inspired me, and Brooklyn, with its vibrant community of artists and innovators, feels like the perfect place to share this exploration of transformation and possibility.”
For nearly a century, the Brooklyn Museum has been well known for its bold exhibitions that detail the the history of fashion, dating back to its 1934 exhibition The Story of Silk. Van Herpen’s upcoming exhibit follows exhibitions honoring trailblazing designers, namely Dorothy Wright Liebes (1942), Madame Grès (1982), Elsa Schiaparelli (1994), Jean Paul Gaultier (2013), Pierre Cardin (2019), Christian Dior (2021) and Thierry Mugler (2022). The exhibition also underscores the museum’s long-held commitment to celebrating pioneering female artists, exemplified by the museum’s Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art — the only center of its kind devoted to showcasing feminist art.
Curated by Cloé Pitiot and Louise Curtis, and co-chaired by Sylvana and Adam Durrett, Jordan Roth, Lizzie and Jonathan Tisch and Amanda and John Waldron, the New York debut is supported by the Simons Foundation and is part of its “Infinite Sums” initiative. Iris van Herpen: Sculpting the Senses opens at an exciting time at the museum, on display during the annual Brooklyn Artists Ball. Van Herpen will be honored at the ball.
In 2010, Van Herpen became the first designer to show a 3D-printed dress on the runway with her 2010 Crystallisation collection. Her sculptural fashion designs are loved by famous faces including Beyoncé, Björk, Jordan Roth, Lady Gaga, Miley Cyrus, Naomi Campbell, Rosalía, Sarah Jessica Parker and Zoë Kravitz.
